Aromatherapy alleviates endothelial dysfunction of medical staff after night-shift work: preliminary observations

Night-shift work causes mental stress and lifestyle changes, and is recognized as a risk of cardiovascular diseases associated with impaired endothelial function. Aromatherapy is becoming popular as a complementary therapy that is beneficial for mental relaxation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy on the endothelial function of medical staff after night-shift work. This study consisted of 19 healthy medical personnel (19 men, mean age 32±7 years), including 11 physicians and 8 technicians. Aromatherapy was performed for 30 min by inhalation of the essential oil of lavender. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery was measured three times in each subject: on a regular workday, and after night-shift work before and immediately after aromatherapy. A control study was performed to assess the effect of a 30-min rest without aromatherapy. The mean value of sleep time during night-shift work was 3.3±1.3 h. FMD after night-shift work was lower than on a regular workday (10.4±1.8 vs . 12.5±1.7%, P <0.001), which improved after aromatherapy (11.8±2.5%, P =0.02 vs . before aromatherapy). FMD was stable in the control study (10.1±1.9 vs . 10.1±2.2%, P =0.9). This study demonstrated that night-shift work impaired endothelial function in medical staff, an effect that was alleviated by short-term aromatherapy.