Aromatherapy's Impact on Test Anxiety in College Students: A Mixed Methods Study

January 29, 2026 updated by: Jenalee Hinds
This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of aromatherapy as an intervention to reduce test anxiety and improve academic performance. The Investigators hypothesize that exposure to aromatherapy during assessments will lead to lower levels of test anxiety and result in higher quiz and test scores.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

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

  • United States
    • Kentucky
      • Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40506
        • University of Kentucky

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:

  • current student
  • participating in selected course at the University

Exclusion Criteria:

  • allergy to essential oils
  • pregnant

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: aromatherapy intervention 1
participants applying their assigned essential oil (ADAPTIV or Thinker) prior to quizzes/tests
Other: Essential Oil 1

Participants will complete short tasks before and after quizzes and tests that are part of normal coursework.

Prior to each assessment, participants will apply aromatherapy (doTERRA ADAPTIV) using a roller bottle (Weeks 5-12 only), sit quietly for 3 minutes, and record resting Heart Rate and Blood Pressure. T After completing the quiz/test, participants will repeat HR and BP measurements and complete a brief post-assessment questionnaire.

Other Names:
  • ADAPTIV
Experimental: aromatherapy intervention 2
participants applying their assigned essential oil (ADAPTIV or Thinker) prior to quizzes/tests
Other: Essential Oil 2

Participants will complete short tasks before and after quizzes and tests that are part of normal coursework.

Prior to each assessment, participants will apply aromatherapy (doTERRA Thinker) using a roller bottle (Weeks 5-12 only), sit quietly for 3 minutes, and record resting Heart Rate and Blood Pressure. T After completing the quiz/test, participants will repeat HR and BP measurements and complete a brief post-assessment questionnaire.

Other Names:
  • Thinker

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 12
The WTAS consists of 10 items, each using a Likert response scale where 1= "Never true" and 5= "always true. Total score is divided by 10 to obtain final scores. The total score ranges from one to five with higher scores equating to greater anxiety.
Baseline and Week 12
Change in heart rate (HR) pre aromatherapy
Time Frame: week 3 and week 4
heart rate will be measured with a fitness tracker before and after quizzes/tests
week 3 and week 4
Change in heart rate (HR) with aromatherapy
Time Frame: Week 5 through Week 12
heart rate will be measured with a fitness tracker before and after quizzes/tests
Week 5 through Week 12
Change in Stress Performance Evaluation (SPE)
Time Frame: Baseline and week 12
percent test questions correct (number of test questions correct out of hundred)]/ percent change in heart rate (heart rate at baseline)/(heart rate after testing) × 100)]
Baseline and week 12
Change in blood pressure (BP) pre aromatherapy
Time Frame: week 3 and week 4
both systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured with a fitness tracker before and after quizzes/tests
week 3 and week 4
Change in blood pressure (BP) with aromatherapy
Time Frame: Week 5 through Week 12
both systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured with a fitness tracker before and after quizzes/tests
Week 5 through Week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Jenalee Hinds

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jenalee Hinds, PhD, University of Kentucky

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)

September 18, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 18, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

December 18, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 20, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 20, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 2, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 29, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 105250

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

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.

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