The Impact of Aromatherapy with Citrus Aurantium Essential Oil on Sleep Quality in Pregnant Women with Sleep Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Freshteh Mohammadi, Maryam Moradi, Azin Niazi and 1 others
PMID 35855386WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women with sleep disorders who inhaled bitter orange essential oil twice daily for one month had better sleep quality scores than placebo, but the oil's smell made blinding difficult.
Key findings
01After intervention, total PSQI sleep quality scores differed significantly between the Citrus aurantium and placebo groups (P<0.001).
02Six sleep domains favored the Citrus aurantium group over placebo one month after intervention, but use of sleep-promoting medication did not.
03Within the Citrus aurantium group, mean PSQI score and several domains were significantly lower one month after intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The bitter orange smell made true blinding impossible, so participants may have known which group they were in. Women were selected through convenient sampling from health centers in Jiroft, so results may not apply to other settings or pregnant women. The study excluded women with olfactory dysfunction, severe anxiety, depression, stress, medical disorders, multiple pregnancy, pre-pregnancy sleep disorders, or recent major stress, so it does not cover many patients with these conditions. Sleep was measured by self-report after one month, with no longer follow-up or objective sleep measures. Eight of the 76 recruited participants were excluded, leaving 68 analysed.
Declared interests
Mashhad University of Medical Sciences supported the research, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that bitter orange aromatherapy is proven safe or effective for all pregnant women with sleep problems. The trial was unblinded because the oil has an odor, selected only women at 28-34 weeks with no severe anxiety, depression, or stress, and followed self-reported sleep for one month.