Effectiveness of Aromatherapy Yoga

Effectiveness of Aromatherapy Yoga in Stress Reduction and Sleep Quality Improvement Among Female College Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

College students, particularly female students, often suffer from severe stress and poor sleep. Aromatherapy yoga has become a popular exercise in recent years and may help reduce stress and improve sleep quality, although empirical evidence is limited. We investigated the effective-ness of aromatherapy yoga intervention in reducing stress and improving sleep quality among female college students. Eighty-nine participants (44 in the experimental group [aromatherapy yoga] and 45 in the control group [yoga]), with an average age of 19.88 ± 1.13 years, were en-rolled in this quasi-experimental study. Interventions were performed in the respective groups once a week for 12 weeks, for 90 minutes each time. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney U test (including effect size) were used to test the differences in stress reduction and sleep quality before and after the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Female College Students
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Aromatherapy yoga; Behavioral: Yoga

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 89
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • WuFeng
    • Taichung, WuFeng, Taiwan, 41354
      • Asia Univeraity

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 21 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• We included female college students aged > 18 years, who were able to understand the questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

• We excluded male students, those with a history of respiratory disease, asthma, or allergy to flowers, plants, or essential oils, those who worked at night, and those with a history of mental diseases.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Aromatherapy yoga; Each intervention session lasted 90 min, between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The course was held in a yoga classroom once a week, in an area of 30 m × 35 m. Furthermore, the total intervention period lasted for 12 weeks.	Behavioral: Aromatherapy yoga; The research assistant diluted the Lavandula angustifolia essential oil with distilled water (1:75) 10 min before the yoga session started. The solution was then atomized by three aroma diffusers, placed in the front, middle, and back of the classroom. The distance from each participant was less than 10 m to ensure that the aroma was absorbed com-pletely. The yoga course for the aromatherapy yoga group was the same as that of the yoga only group. The yoga group only took a yoga course, without aromatherapy.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Yoga; Each intervention session lasted 90 min, between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The course was held in a yoga classroom once a week, in an area of 30 m × 35 m. Furthermore, the total intervention period lasted for 12 weeks.	Behavioral: Yoga; The design of the yoga lessons was based on a past study and a professional yoga instruction book. Yoga lessons were led by certified yoga tutors.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Stress Scale 14 (PSS-14)	PSS-14 is the scale that is most widely used for measuring the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as being stressful.	10-15 minutes
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)	The PSQI developed by Buysse et al. [45], which evaluates sleep quality of the participants in the past month.	10-15 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yang Shang-Yu

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): March 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): June 1, 2021
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): August 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 12, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 12, 2022
• First Posted (ACTUAL): July 14, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): July 14, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 12, 2022
• Last Verified: July 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: HZAUHU-2021-0001

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No