Effects of Binaural Beat and Lavender Scent Inhalation on mood and Sleep Quality of Female Student-Athletes with Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders in the Covid-19 pandemic and student life are among the issues of interest to researchers, especially when the student is an athlete. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of binaural beat and lavender scent on mood and sleep quality in female student-athletes.

In this quasi-experimental study, 48 female student-athletes with low sleep quality were selected by convenience sampling and randomly divided into 4 groups: binaural beat (BB); binaural beat + lavender (BL); binaural beat + placebo (BP) and control. Over a 21-day period, the BB group listened to the binaural sounds generated by beta, alpha, and delta waves at 6 Hz for 28 minutes at 225 Hz for the left ear and 231 Hz for the right ear. Lavender scent groups inhaled two drops of lavender scent with a cotton ball every night for 7 nights before sleeping and the placebo group consumed water instead. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Social Mood Questionnaire were used to measure sleep quality and mood, respectively. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance with Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS24 software at the significance level of 0.05.

The results showed that the mean sleep quality of the BB and BL groups were significantly improved compared to the control group (p≤0.05). In addition, the mood status of the BB, BL, and BP groups were significantly improved compared to the control group (p≤0.05).

Based on the findings, it seems that binaural beats with the inhaling the scent of lavender can improve sleep quality.