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. 2021 Jul 18;9(7):909.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9070909.

Influences of Lavender Essential Oil Inhalation on Stress Responses during Short-Duration Sleep Cycles: A Pilot Study

Wakako Yogi  1   2 , Mana Tsukada  1 , Yosuke Sato  3 , Takuji Izuno  1 , Tatsuki Inoue  1   4 , Yoshiki Tsunokawa  1   4 , Takayuki Okumo  1 , Tadashi Hisamitsu  1 , Masataka Sunagawa  1
Affiliations

Influences of Lavender Essential Oil Inhalation on Stress Responses during Short-Duration Sleep Cycles: A Pilot Study

Wakako Yogi et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Lavender essential oil (LEO) was reported to improve sleep quality. We investigated the influence of aromatherapy by testing the effects of LEO on stress responses during a short-duration sleep in a single-blind, randomized, crossover trial. The subjects were twelve healthy adults who were nonsmokers without any known disease and who were not prescribed medications, and nine of these completed the study. After the subjects had fallen asleep, they were sprayed with LEO using an aroma diffuser. Before and after 90 min of sleep, α-amylase, chromogranin A (CgA), and cortisol levels in saliva were measured as objective stress indicators, and the Japanese version of the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist was used as a subjective indicator. A comparison of changes before and after sleep, with and without LEO, revealed that the cortisol level did not significantly change; however, α-amylase (p < 0.05) and CgA (p < 0.01) levels significantly decreased after LEO inhalation. A mood test indicated no change in mood before and after sleep, with or without LEO. Since α-amylase and CgA reflect the sympathetic nervous system response, these results indicate that LEO aromatherapy during a short-duration sleep cycle suppresses the stress response, especially that of the sympathetic nervous system.

Keywords: antistress effect; aromatherapy; chromogranin A; cortisol; lavender essential oil; α-amylase.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experiment schedule. LEO, lavender essential oil; EEG, electroencephalogram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Rate of change in salivary stress markers. (A) Cortisol; with or without LEO, 90 min of sleep reduced the salivary cortisol levels, and there was no significant difference. (B) α-amylase; LEO inhalation significantly reduced the salivary α-amylase level (* p < 0.05). (C) CgA; the CgA levels after 90 min of sleep increased with and without LEO; however, LEO inhalation significantly suppressed the rate of increase (** p < 0.01). Horizontal lines within boxes denote median values, and x marks denote the mean values. n.s., not significant.
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