Abstract
One of the problems of cancer patients is sleep disorder. Given the absence of studies on comparing the effect of inhalation aromatherapy with lavender and peppermint on the sleep quality of the cancer patients, this study was performed to compare the effect of inhalation aromatherapy with lavender and peppermint essential oils on the sleep quality of cancer patients. For this purpose, 120 patients were randomly allocated to three groups of lavender, peppermint, and control. The intervention groups received three drops of the essential oil for 7 days. In the control group, aromatic distilled water was used instead. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) was used. Before the intervention, no significant difference was observed between the mean PSQI scores of three groups, while the difference was statistically significant after the intervention. The mean PSQI scores were lower in lavender and peppermint groups than in the control group. Aromatherapy can improve the sleep quality of cancer patients. To confirm the findings, more studies should be done.
Highlights
Cancer changes many aspects of life [1] and causes negative consequences such as sleep disorder [2]
Peppermint affects the hypothalamus by stimulating the olfactory pathways and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine decreases the corticotropin-releasing hormone, which reduces cortisol secretion from the adrenal gland, thereby reducing anxiety [20]. e results of studies on the effect of lavender essential oil on the sleep quality are contradictory and challenging. e results of some studies have indicated the positive effect of lavender on reducing insomnia and improving sleep quality [21,22,23,24]
To the best of our knowledge, a limited number of studies have been done on the effect of peppermint on the sleep quality of cancer patients, which have shown its positive effect on improving the sleep quality [28, 29]. e results of a systematic review performed in 2016 showed the low reliability of most studies in the field of aromatherapy in cancer patients, suggesting further studies in this regard [30]
Summary
Cancer changes many aspects of life [1] and causes negative consequences such as sleep disorder [2]. Cancer patients sometimes have a severe sleep disorder and need medical intervention [6] One of these interventions is the use of benzodiazepines, which have negative side effects despite their effectiveness, such as dependency and tolerance [7, 8]. Linalyl acetate has narcotic and sedative effect [16] Another medicinal herb used in aromatherapy is peppermint from the Lamiaceae family [17]. E results of studies on the effect of lavender essential oil on the sleep quality are contradictory and challenging. E results of some studies have indicated the positive effect of lavender on reducing insomnia and improving sleep quality [21,22,23,24]. To the best of our knowledge, a limited number of studies have been done on the effect of peppermint on the sleep quality of cancer patients, which have shown its positive effect on improving the sleep quality [28, 29]. e results of a systematic review performed in 2016 showed the low reliability of most studies in the field of aromatherapy in cancer patients, suggesting further studies in this regard [30]
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