The Effect of Citrus Aurantium Aroma on Sleep Quality in the Elderly with Heart Failure

Poor sleep quality is one of the most common problems in the elderly with heart failure, and hospitalization exacerbates this problem. In traditional Persian medicine, citrus aurantium has been recognized as a sedative and inducer of sleep. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of citrus aurantium on sleep quality in the elderly with heart failure.

This randomized clinical trial was performed on 80 elderly patients with heart failure admitted in selected teaching hospitals of Mazandaran province in two intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, aromatherapy with two drops of 10% citrus aurantium essential oil was performed on a cotton ball for twenty minutes for three consecutive nights and the control group received routine care. Sleep quality of the elderly was assessed before and after the intervention using the standard St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (SMHSQ) (which assesses the quality of previous night's sleep in hospitalized patients).  

 The mean sleep disorder in the elderly before and after the intervention in the intervention group was 24.70±3.67 and 21.05±3.62, respectively, which was statistically significant (p=0.001). Mean sleep disorder in the elderly before and after the intervention in the control group was 24.37±4.48 and 23.75±4.71, respectively, which was not statistically significant.

The results showed that using aromatherapy with citrus aurantium can improve sleep quality in the elderly with heart failure.