Effectiveness of Aromatherapy and Quality of Sleep among Elderly Inmates of Selected Old Age Home

Introduction: Sleep disturbances are more prevalent among the elderly and act as a major source of stress for them. Poor sleep in the elderly is typically undertreated or treated with pharmacological interventions with adverse consequences. So it is relevant to investigate alternative strategies for sleep management. Aromatherapy is the method of using pleasant fragrance in treating the different health problems of the people. Aims and objective: To study the effectiveness of aromatherapy on quality of sleep among elderly inmates. Approach and design: Quantitative study approach was selected and the study design was quasi-experimental, one group pre-test post-test. Samples and sampling criteria: Sixty inmates from selected old age home were assessed for general pattern of sleep. Among them who were having fairly and inadequate sleep were selected for the study. Aromatherapy was administered for five consecutive days. The lavender essential oil was dropped on a cotton ball and kept under the pillow throughout the night. The quality of sleep was assessed before aromatherapy, as well as on the third and sixth day using Modified Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The mean pre-test PSQI score (11.9) was significantly higher than the post test score (4.875). The computed 't' value (10.184) is greater than the table value (t₃₉=3.551, p<0.001). It indicated that there was a significant increase in the quality of sleep after aromatherapy. There was no significant association found between quality of sleep and selected demographic variables. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that quality of sleep was poor in the elderly before aromatherapy and the quality of sleep increased by aromatherapy and it was concluded that aromatherapy is useful in increasing the quality of sleep among elderly inmates of the old age home.