Aromatherapy reduces stress in teachers

Can essential oils alleviate mental stress in teachers? One recent study shows that bergamot oil can help alleviate stress related to professional responsibilities. Researchers in Taiwan analyzed the effects of aromatherapy on various workloads. After diffusing a natural oil, the nervous system automatically responded. The result? The oil alleviated symptoms of mental and physical stress . The results also suggest that the age of the participants and their BMI influence the effectiveness of aromatherapy (during a hard day's work). Twenty-nine primary school teachers participated in the study. Their health status was important. They did not have asthma (those with a history of asthma were also excluded), hypertension, or any heart disease (arrhythmia, myocardial ischemia, heart failure). Aromatherapy to reduce stress The experiment was divided into two phases:

1. The effect of aromatherapy was verified by conducting two blind trials. Natural bergamot oil, derived from plants, and a synthetic chemical oil served as a placebo. Each participant underwent aromatherapy twice. One involved a heavy workload, the other a light workload. A heavy workload was defined as teaching more than four classes per day, while a light workload referred to teaching fewer than two classes in a single day. The aromatherapy sessions took place after the end of the classes. To ensure the independence of the two treatments, a week's break was allowed between each treatment.
2. An analysis of the effects of aromatherapy on teachers with varying workloads. The project authors measured the teachers' heart rates to assess the activity of their autonomic nervous system.

Natural essential oils versus synthetic oils What was the purpose of the trial? The authors wanted to investigate whether natural bergamot oil could help alleviate occupational stress in primary school teachers. Although the experiment participants were unable to distinguish between the natural and synthetic scents, they found that the natural oil had a relaxing effect. The synthetic oil had no such effect. This result demonstrates that bergamot oil derived from natural substances has a more positive effect on mental well-being. This can be analogous to other natural oils. Aromatherapy helped teachers, but not all. A reduced effect of oils was noted on younger test participants who were overloaded with work. Furthermore, aromatherapy had no impact on teachers with an abnormal body mass index.