Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Of the sixty participating coronary heart disease patients in the intensive care unit, those who inhaled lavender essential oil experienced significantly improved sleep quality and levels of anxiety.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women 1. Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease and is a public health concern due to its high morbidity and mortality rates 1,2. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital, specifically coronary ICU, tend to develop sleep disturbances due to pain, medication, noises, lights, anxiety and the overall environment 2,3. Research has found that the greater the quality of the person’s sleep in ICU, the faster the recovery 2,4. Recent research has found that lavender aromatherapy can improve sleep and anxiety in ICU patients 2.
Coronary ICU patients are typically treated with drugs to help with sleep, although pharmacological sedative medications typically have side effects and can become addictive 2,3. Therefore, researchers were hopeful to find a non-pharmacological option to help increase sleep and as a result, faster recovery in coronary ICU patients 2.
Lavender essential oil is one of the most commonly used essential oils and has been shown to be sedative, antibacterial, antifungal, antidepressant and stress reducing 2,5. Lavender essential oil is also considered one of the safest essential oils and was therefore chosen to be studied. The aim was to determine if lavender essential oil would improve sleep quality and anxiety in patients in the coronary intensive care unit 5.
The research included 60 participants in the coronary ICU. Patients were randomly assigned to receive the lavender essential oil (n=30) or be in the control group (n=30). Participants in the lavender aromatherapy group received 2 drops (2% lavender essential oil) on a 2X2 cm gauze attached to their scrubs, approximately 12 inches below their nose. They were told to breathe normally for 20 minutes every night before sleep for 15 days, the average time in the hospital for coronary artery disease 2.
A sleep survey (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and anxiety survey (Beck Anxiety Inventory, BAI) were given to participants before treatment and again after 15 days. The results were as follows:
| Lavender Group | Control Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep Survey (PSQI) | ||
| Pre-test | 8.68 +/- 2.96 | 9.44 +/- 2.75 |
| Post-test | 7.60 +/- 2.83 | 9.38 +/- 2.60 |
| Significance | P=0.006 | P=0.493 –Not significant |
| Anxiety Survey (BAI) | ||
| Pre-test | 16.00 +/- 9.48 | 12.23 +/- 6.12 |
| Post-test | 12.93 +/- 7.70 | 13.00 +/- 6.54 |
| Significance | P= 0.001 | P= 0.123 – Not significant |
The results indicate that both sleep and anxiety were significantly improved by inhaling lavender for 20 minutes per day compared to baseline. There were no significant changes in the control group.
In conclusion, lavender essential oil improved sleep quality and anxiety in hospitalized coronary ICU patients. The research needs to be confirmed with a larger sample size, but lavender oil should be considered as a non-invasive, inexpensive option to support patients in the ICU 2.
Source: Karadag, Ezgi, Sevgin Samancioglu, Dilek Ozden, and Ercan Bakir. “Effects of aromatherapy on sleep quality and anxiety of patients.” Nursing in critical care 22, no. 2 (2017): 105-112.
© 2015 British Association of Critical Care Nurses • Vol 22 No 2
Posted November 9, 2017.
References:
- CDC. Heart Disease Facts. 2017; Fact Sheet on Heart Disease. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm. Accessed November 8, 2017, 2017.
- Karadag E, Samancioglu S, Ozden D, Bakir E. Effects of aromatherapy on sleep quality and anxiety of patients. Nursing in critical care. 2017;22(2):105-112.
- Kurt S, Enç N. Sleep problems ın critical care patients and nursing care. Turkish Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. 2013;4:1-8.
- So HM, Chan DSK. Perception of stressors by patients and nurses of critical care units in Hong Kong. International journal of nursing studies. 2004;41(1):77-84.
- Bikmoradi A, Seifi Z, Poorolajal J, Araghchian M, Safiaryan R, Oshvandi K. Effect of inhalation aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on stress and vital signs in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: A single-blinded randomized clinical trial. Complementary therapies in medicine. 2015;23(3):331-338.
