A comparative study on the effects of aromatherapy with orange and Citrus aurantium extracts on sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Patients with heart disease suffer from sleep disorders due to the disease process. Aromatherapy is one of the ways to treat sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of aromatherapy with orange and citrus aurantium on sleep quality in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

This clinical trial study was performed on 120 patients admitted to selected hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) in 2019. The samples were randomly divided into four groups of aromatherapy with Orange extract, Citrus aurantium extract, Orange - Citrus aurantium extract and the control. The control group received only routine care. Data collection tools included St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Quality Questionnaire and demographic profile form.

The mean sleep time in the Citrus aurantium group (6.5 ± 0.3 hours), the orange group (8 ± 0.7 hours) and the Orange-Citrus aurantium group (8 ± 0.8 hours) was significantly higher than the control group (5.4 ± 0.4 hours) (p=0.000). The mean score of sleep quality in the orange, Citrus aurantium and Orange-Citrus aurantium groups was significantly better than the control group (p=0.0008). The sleep quality score in the combined aromatherapy group was significantly higher than each group alone (P<0.05). No significant differences were found in the sleep quality between Orange and Citrus aurantium groups.

Aromatherapy with the combined Orange and Citrus aurantium extracts and each extract alone has a positive effect on sleep quality and can be used as a complementary measure in nursing care.