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Studies on Essential Oils as Sleep Aids

Lavender essential oil is a well known sleep aid — a drop or two on the pillow or bedspread at night improves sleep for many people. Some even run a diffuser slowly releasing lavender over the course of the night. But lavender doesn’t work for everyone — particularly those who aren’t especially fond of its [...]

May 14 2008

Lavender essential oil is a well known sleep aid — a drop or two on the pillow or bedspread at night improves sleep for many people. Some even run a diffuser slowly releasing lavender over the course of the night. But lavender doesn’t work for everyone — particularly those who aren’t especially fond of its aroma. These folks might want to try Sandalwood or Chamomile; and try using these oils topically in small amounts rather than only inhaling the aroma.

These two studies show first: that Lavender has a significant statistical effect in improving sleep patterns. The second shows that not everyone is the same, and how one responds to an aroma will likely determine if that aroma will positively effect them, or not at all. Also, gender seemed to be a factor in response to an aroma.

Study: An olfactory stimulus modifies nighttime sleep in young men and women.
Goel N, Kim H, Lao RP. Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA.

Aromatherapy is an anecdotal method for modifying sleep and mood. However, whether olfactory exposure to essential oils affects night-time objective sleep remains untested. Previous studies also demonstrate superior olfactory abilities in women. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of an olfactory stimulus on subsequent sleep and assessed gender differences in such effects. Thirty-one young healthy sleepers (16 men and 15 women, aged 18 to 30 yr, mean+/-SD, 20.5+/-2.4 yr) completed 3 consecutive overnight sessions in a sleep laboratory: one adaptation, one stimulus, and one control night (the latter 2 nights in counterbalanced order). Subjects received an intermittent presentation (first 2 min of each 10 min interval) of an olfactory (lavender essential oil) or a control (distilled water) stimulus between 23:10 and 23:40 h. Standard polysomnographic sleep and self-rated sleepiness and mood data were collected. Lavender increased the percentage of deep or slow-wave sleep (SWS) in men and women. All subjects reported higher vigor the morning after lavender exposure, corroborating the restorative SWS increase. Lavender also increased stage 2 (light) sleep, and decreased rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and the amount of time to reach wake after first falling asleep (wake after sleep onset latency) in women, with opposite effects in men. Thus, lavender serves as a mild sedative and has practical applications as a novel, nonphotic method for promoting deep sleep in young men and women and for producing gender-dependent sleep effects.

Study: Sleep changes vary by odor perception in young adults.Goel N, Lao RP.
Department of Psychology, 207 High Street, Judd Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA.

Peppermint (peppermint essential oil), a stimulating odor, increases alertness while awake and therefore may inhibit sleep. This study examined peppermint’s effects on polysomnographic (PSG) sleep, alertness, and mood when presented before bedtime. Twenty-one healthy sleepers (mean age +/- S.D., 20.1 +/- 2.0 years) completed three consecutive laboratory sessions (adaptation, control, and stimulus nights). Peppermint reduced fatigue and improved mood and was rated as more pleasant, intense, stimulating, and elating than water. These perceptual qualities associated with sleep measures: subjects rating peppermint as very intense had more total sleep than those rating it as moderately intense, and also showed more slow-wave sleep (SWS) in the peppermint than control session. Furthermore, subjects who found peppermint stimulating showed more NREM and less REM sleep while those rating it as sedating took longer to reach SWS. Peppermint did not affect PSG sleep, however, when these perceptual qualities were not considered. Peppermint also produced gender-differentiated responses: it increased NREM sleep in women, but not men, and alertness in men, but not women, compared with the control. Thus, psychological factors, including individual differences in odor perception play an important role in physiological sleep and self-rated mood and alertness changes.

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