The effect of lavender aromatherapy on sleep quality in the older adults: A single blind randomized clinical trial Download PDF

Introduction: Sleep disorders are one of the most common complaints among older people. Lavender Aromatherapy as a safe and sedative sleep enhancing intervention is an alternative to pharmaceutical protocols for sleep disturbances. Therefore, this current study aimed to explore th effect of aromatherapy using lavender on sleep quality in the older people. Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 80 elders referred to healthcare setting who were randomly allocated into two groups with 40 elderly in each group. The intervention group inhaled lavender essential oil dropped on a cotton ball and attached to their collar, before sleeping for two weeks and discarded it after waking up, while the control group received no intervention. All participants were asked to fill out the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) before and after the study. Collected data was analysed via the SPSS version 18 software using t-test and logistic regression. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of socio-demographic characteristics sleep quality score before intervention (p > 0.05). Comparison of the PSQI scores in the groups before and after the intervention was reported a statistically significant difference in sleep quality's mean scores (P < 0.001). In the logistic regression analysis, no potential confounding variable influenced sleep quality as the dependent variable (P > 0.05). By eliminating all confounders, aromatherapy significantly predicted sleep quality (OR=8.28, CI=1.55- 44.18, P=0.01). Conclusion: lavender Aromatherapy can be used as a non-invasive, easily applicable, cost-effective method for improving sleep quality.