Aromatherapy for Anxiety

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romatherapy for nxiety

Introduction

Aromatherapy dates from more

than 5000 years ago when Egyptians

used scented oils for em balming, cos-

metics, and perfumes. Hippocrates

taught its health

enhancing benefits in

Greece in the late 5th

century B.C. It be-

came a formal science

in the 1930s when

the severely burned

hand of French

chemist, Gattefosse,

was healed after he

plunged it into laven-

deroil,the nearest

liquid available in his

lab(Worwood, 1991).

Aromatherapy contin-

ues to be one o fthe

most commonly used

complementary and

alternative m edicines (CAM) today

with concentrated oils obtained from

flowers, leaves, resins, seeds, roots,

and grasses of between 75 to 300 dif-

ferent plant species (Worwood, 1991).

Although the mechanism of action

is not known, the essential oils are

suspected to aftect the limbic system,

the area of the brain associated with

basic drives of hunger, thirst, breath-

ing,sleep patterns, sex drive, mood,

memory (learning), and emotions

(Braden,Reichow, Halm, 2009).

Oils can be adm inistered by inhala-

tion where they are believed to travel

directly through the olfactory bulb

to the limbic system, or topically, by

massage and bathing, with absorption

through the skin into the blood stream

within 10-30 minutes. Various aroma-

therapy oils are used for stings and

bites,

insomnia, nausea, depression,

anxiety, infections, andpain. Support-

ing data for aromatherapy includes a

large proportion of anecdotal accounts

(Howard Hughes, 2008; Lee, Wu,

Tsang,Leung, Cheung, 2011) but it

has become quite popular as a gener-

By Jenni Moore, RN, BSN

effectiveness to treat anxiety.

Review of Literature

ally safe, low-cost treatment, with few

contraindications, sensitivities, or drug

interactions.

Approximately four to six percent of

people worldwide suffer from anxiety

of some type (Lee etal, 2011). At

least ten different

essential oils are

believed to relieve

anxiety, but lavender

is the most widely

recommended oil for

this problem (Howard

Hughes, 2008; Lee

eta l ,

2011). Laven-

der oil is believed to

retain therapeutic

properties even for

people with impaired

olfactory senses

(Braden etal,2009).

Symptoms of

anxiety can be largely

subjective, including

complaints of fatigue, tension, irritabil-

ity, restlessness, headache, and gen-

eral unpleasant feelings. Objective

measurements of anxiety include high

blood pressure, elevated heart rate,

sweating,

diarrhea,

and an inability to

focus (Lee

e t a l ,

2011;

McCaffrey, Thomas,

Kinzelman, 2009).

Because blood pres-

sure changes tend

to occur over time,

heart rate may reflect

reactions to short term

acute stress more ac-

curately (McCaffrey et

al.,

2009). Frequency

of requests for pain

medication has been

used as an objec-

tive measurement of

subjective feelings

in an attempt to measure effective-

ness of lavender (Kim, Wajda,

Cuff

Serota, Schlame, Axelrod, Bekker,

2006). This research article explores

evidence for lavender's physiological

Using data bases of CINAHL and

PubMed,a literature search was made

of peer reviewed journals from 2005 to

present with key words aromatherapy

and anxiety, producing more than sixty

articles. Refining the search for adults

using lavender oil produced sixteen

articles; three were selected for this

review of effects of administration by

inhalation ofth e scented oil.

Table

(page 13) provides a sum-

mary ofthe reviewed articles.

Studies for this review of literature

were purposefully selected to have

similarities and differences. All three

study designs evaluated lavender oil

administered by inhalation. Two of

the studies compared healthy subjects

with situational anxiety while the other

studied surgical patients anticipating a

wide variety of procedures. Two of the

studies utilized an experime ntal group,

a control group, and a placebo group,

while the other used repeated mea-

sures.

Two ofthe studies attempted to

measure physiologi-

cal changes and two

measured reported

anecdotal results.

Only one oft he

stud-

ies was double-blind

in design.

More re-

search is needed to

test individual oils, as

many studies focus

on aromatherapy

using multiple oils or

in combination with

massage or music.

In these studies it is

unclear to what extent

each component in-

fluences patient outcomes. The large

number of oils utilized for a wide range

of health conditions will requirewell-

designed studies to determine specific

effects ofeach. Blind and double-blind

continued on page 2

Vol.83 Number 3 May-June 2013 T he Kansas N urse

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romatherapy for nxiety

By Jennifer Moore, RN, BSN

Continued from page 11

studies are needed to test for scented

oils,a challenge because many scents

are difficult to mask. Study designs

will also need to compare similar

methods of administration, standard-

ized doses, and timing for oils

\Afett

Janda, 2008).

Incorporat ion into Advanced Nurs-

ing Practice

Aromatherapy is an extremely

popular CAM despite the anecdotal

nature of much of the supporting

literature. Wh ile the overall quality

of studies leaves many unanswered

questions, there does seem to be

evidence for effectiveness in mild or

short term issues. Essential oils may

provide safe and low-cost adjuncts to

other treatments in most populations.

There is currently no professional

certification for arom atherapy, butclini-

cal courses are available to members

ofthe National Association of Holistic

Aromatherapy (NAHA, 2012). When

oils are used, their purpose should be

clear,with targeted outcomes that are

measurable by objective as well as

subjective means. The large number

of oils and applications of aroma-

therapy require specialized training to

utilize them safely in patient care. The

complex physiological, psychological,

and spiritual natures of humans m ay

indeed benefit from aromatherapy, but

much more information is needed for

truly evidence-based usage.

References

Braden,R., Reichow, S., Halm , M.

A. (2009, December). The Use

ofthe Essential Oil Lavandin

to Reduce Preoperative Anxi-

ety in Surgical Patients.Jour-

nal ofPeriAnesthesia Nursing,

24('6;,

348-355. doi:10.1016/

j.jopan.2009.10.002

Howard,

S., Hughes, B. M. (2008).

Expectancies, not aroma, ex-

plain impact of lavender aroma-

therapy on psychophysiological

indices of relaxation in young

healthy wom en.B ritish Journal of

HealthPsychology

3, 603-617.

doi:

10.1348/135910707X238734

Kim,

J. T, Wajda, M.,

Cuff,

G., Serota,

D., Schlame, M., Axelrod , D. M .,...

Bekker, A. Y. (2006). Evaluation of

aromatherapy in treating post-

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operativepain:pilot study.

Pain

Practice,6 4), 273-277.

Lee,

Y., Wu, Y , Tsang, H. W., Leung,

A., Cheung , W. M. (2011). A

Systematic Review on the Anx-

iolytic Effects of Aromatherapy

in People with Anxiety Sym p-

toms.TheJournal of Alternative

an dComplementaryMedicine,

17{2), 101-108.

doi:

10.1089/

acm.2009.0277

McCaffrey, R., Thomas, D. J.,

Kinzelman , A. O. (2009, March/

April).

The Effects of Laven-

der and Rosemary Essential

Oils on Test-Taking Anxiety

Among Graduate Nursing Stu-

dents.H olistic Nursing Practice,

23 2),88-93. doi:10.1097/HNP

Ob013e3181a110aa

National Association of Holistic Aroma -

therapy (NAHA) (2012). Retrieved

July 2, 2012 , from http://www.

naha.org

Watt, G. V , Janda, A. (2008, Au-

gust). Aromatherapy in nursing

and mental health care. Contem-

porary Nurse,

30(1), 69-75.

Worwood, V. A. (1991).

The Com plete

Book ofEssentialOils Aroma-

therapy.

San Rafael, CA: New

World Library.

Jenni Moore, RN,

BSN,has exten-

sive experience in

multiple a reas of

nursing,

including

school nursing,

community health,

and education.

She is currently seeking a M aster's

Degree in Nursing at Washburn

University, Topeka. She is a KSNA

District 18 member.

12 visit us at www.ksnurse s.com

The Kansas Nurse

May-June 2013 Vol. 88 Number 3


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C o p y r i g h t o f K a n s a s N u r s e i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f K a n s a s S t a t e N u r s e s A s s o c i a t i o n a n d i t s c o n t e n t

m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t

h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r

i n d i v i d u a l u s e .


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C o p y r i g h t o f K a n s a s N u r s e i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f K a n s a s S t a t e N u r s e s A s s o c i a t i o n a n d i t s c o n t e n t

m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t

h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r

i n d i v i d u a l u s e .

Aromatherapy for Anxiety

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