The Effectiveness of Lavender Aromatherapy Combined With Slow Breathing Exercises in Improving Occupational Burnout and Sleep Disorders Among Nursing Staff

April 27, 2026 updated by: Chen, Yao-Hsiang, Tri-Service General Hospital
This study investigates the effects of breathing exercises combined with lavender essential oil inhalation on occupational burnout and sleep disturbances in rotating shift nurses.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will adopt a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design targeting rotating shift nurses with at least six months of clinical experience at a regional teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Eligible participants who consent to join the study will be randomly assigned into five groups using block randomization. The randomization process will be conducted via sealed envelopes to allocate participants into the following groups: Experimental Group 1, Experimental Group 2, Experimental Group 3, Breathing-Only Group, and Control Group.

Experimental Group 1: Participants will receive slow breathing training (6 breaths per minute) once daily before bedtime, combined with the inhalation of 3 drops of natural lavender essential oil on a towel, for 3 minutes, over a 4-week period.

Experimental Group 2: Same breathing protocol as above, with 3 drops of linalyl acetate-containing essential oil.

Experimental Group 3: Same breathing protocol, with 3 drops of linalool-containing essential oil.

Breathing-Only Group: Participants will perform slow breathing training (6 breaths per minute) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime, without any essential oil inhalation, for 4 weeks.

Control Group: Participants will maintain their usual lifestyle without any intervention.

The outcomes will be evaluated using a nurse burnout scale and a sleep quality scale. Measurements will be taken at three time points: baseline (pre-test), 4 weeks after the intervention (post-test 1), and 8 weeks after the intervention (follow-up/post-test 2).

The study is co-led by Yao-Hsiang Chen, Assistant Head Nurse at Tri-Service General Hospital Songshan Branch, and Professor Chia-Hui Lin, School of Nursing, National Defense Medical Center.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Taipei
      • Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan, 105
        • Tri-Service General Hospital, Songshan Branch

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Aged between 20 and 65 years Registered nurses with at least 6 months of clinical experience and currently working rotating shifts Scores ≥1 in each of the three dimensions (emotional exhaustion, reduced personal accomplishment, depersonalization) on the Nursing Burnout Scale (NBS) Willing to participate in the study and accept random assignment

Exclusion Criteria:

Nurses with less than 6 months of clinical experience Individuals with anosmia or reduced sense of smell Diagnosed with psychiatric disorders Allergic to lavender essential oil Not currently working rotating shifts

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants will maintain their usual lifestyle without any intervention.
Placebo Comparator: Breathing-Only Group
Participants will perform slow breathing training (6 breaths per minute) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime, without any essential oil inhalation, for 4 weeks.
Behavioral: Slow Breathing Exercises
Participants will perform slow breathing (6 breaths/min) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime
Experimental: Experimental Group 1
Participants will receive slow breathing training (6 breaths per minute) once daily before bedtime, combined with the inhalation of 3 drops of natural lavender essential oil on a towel, for 3 minutes, over a 4-week period.
Behavioral: Slow Breathing Exercises
Participants will perform slow breathing (6 breaths/min) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime
Behavioral: Lavender Essential Oil Inhalation
inhalation of 3 drops of lavender essential oil on a towel,
Experimental: Experimental Group 2
Same breathing protocol as above, with 3 drops of linalyl acetate-containing essential oil on a towel, for 3 minutes, over a 4-week period.
Behavioral: Slow Breathing Exercises
Participants will perform slow breathing (6 breaths/min) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime
Behavioral: linalyl acetate essential oil Inhalation
inhalation of 3 drops of linalyl acetate essential oil on a towel.
Experimental: Experimental Group 3
Same breathing protocol, with 3 drops of linalool-containing essential oil on a towel, for 3 minutes, over a 4-week period.
Behavioral: Slow Breathing Exercises
Participants will perform slow breathing (6 breaths/min) for 3 minutes daily before bedtime
Behavioral: linalool essential oil Inhalation
inhalation of 3 drops of linalool essential oil on a towel.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Nursing Burnout Scale, NBS
Time Frame: At baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks following the start of intervention
The Nurse Burnout Inventory is specifically developed based on nurses' clinical practice experiences. It includes items that reflect three key dimensions: emotional exhaustion resulting from the high-tension clinical work environment, reduced personal accomplishment associated with feelings of ineffectiveness in medical care, and depersonalization, characterized by indifference toward others due to prolonged burnout.
At baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks following the start of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, CPSQI
Time Frame: At baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks following the start of intervention
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a widely used self-reported questionnaire designed to assess sleep quality over the past month. It evaluates multiple aspects of sleep, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction. A higher score indicates poorer sleep quality.
At baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks following the start of intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Tri-Service General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 28, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 30, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TSGH-SS_E_114015

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Sleep Wake Disorders

Clinical Trials on Slow Breathing Exercises

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Rwanda

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe