The effect of aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on sleep quality in patients with major depression

Context: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, and poor sleep quality is a risk factor for it.
Aims: This study aimed at determining the effect of aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on sleep quality of patients with major depression.
Settings and Design: This single‑blinded randomized clinical trial in Psychiatric Clinic in Yahya Nejad Hospital, Babol, Iran, during 2019.
Materials and Methods: Eighty major depressive patients with sleep disorder were recruited from those referred to Psychiatric Clinic in Babol City, Iran. They were assigned into intervention and control groups (forty participants in each group). The intervention group inhaled lavender essential oil and the control group received almond oil as placebo. Sleep quality of the participants was measured before and after the intervention.
Statistical Analysis Used: Data analysis was performed employing statistical tests including Chi‑square, Kolmogorov–Smirnov, ANCOVA, independent t‑test, and paired t‑test.
Results: The intervention and control groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics and the mean score of sleep quality before the intervention (P > 0.05). The patients in the intervention group had a better quality of sleep comparing to that in the control group, and the difference was statistically meaningful (P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Aromatherapy with lavender essential oil has positive effects on sleep quality in depressed patients. It can be used as a noninvasive complementary method to improve sleep quality in patients with major depression.