Fragment Delivering Aroma Stimulus during Whole Night Sleep Can Effectively Enhance Sleep Quality

• Main Authors: Yang, Meng-Hsun, 楊孟珣
• Other Authors: 柯立偉
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/n8gehx

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 生物資訊及系統生物研究所 === 103 === Past studies have proven that aromatherapy before sleep can help people relax, and thus effectively improving the sleep quality. However, subjects might claim to have experienced an improved quality of sleep, if they are aware of the aromatherapy taking place. Previous studies revealed that the olfactory system still works during sleep, and is the only human sense that bypasses the thalamus, which controls the function between sleep and wake. Hence, presenting aroma stimulus during sleep is an effective way to eliminate the self-psychological biases, and does not make the sleep arousal. In order to understand and evaluate the benefits of the essential oil with the quality of sleep, this study organizes the experiments, with and without discharging the lavender aroma essential oil during sleep, and several physiological signals are recording simultaneously. The sleep questionnaires are given before and after experimental night to assess the self-reported sleep quality. The self-reported sleep quality at the experimental night has a significant improvement in the terms of less sleep disturbance and sleep well. The ratio and length of slow wave sleep (SWS) at the experimental night also has the significant increase. The results from the EEG power spectrum activities show the large delta power (0-4 Hz) in non-rapid eye movement stage 3, in contract, the less alpha power (8-13 Hz) and beta power (15-30 Hz) in wake stage at experimental night. In conclusion, this study suggests that exposing the lavender aroma essential oil during sleep not only effectively improve the sleep quality in self-report, but enhance the deep sleep related EEG power activity during sleep, and thus increase both degree and duration of deep sleep and less the length of awake.