Courtesy of the Surgeon General for the Northern Lights region.
Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Sleep issues are prevalent and affect health and well-being. The aspects of well-being that are impacted by sleep interventions have not been well studied.
To investigate the impact of lavender and sleep hygiene (LSH) compared to sleep
hygiene (SH) alone on well-being as measured by the Self-assessment of
Change questionnaire (SAC) at post-intervention and two-week follow-up,
and secondarily to compare the SAC sleep item to results from standardized sleep surveys.
Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) where one group received a lavender inhalation patch and practiced sleep hygiene (LSH) and the other group received a placebo inhalation patch and practiced sleep hygiene (SH) for five consecutive nights.
Usual sleep setting.
Seventy-nine college students with self-reported sleep issues.
The SAC was completed at post-intervention and follow-up.
Exploratory analysis showed significantly improved well-being for the LSH group at post-intervention for well-being domains of sleep,
energy, and vibrancy (P = .01, .03, and .05, respectively) and an
overall trend of improved well-being in comparison to the SH group at
post-intervention and follow-up. The SAC sleep item showed a similar pattern of change to the standardized sleep surveys with a statistically significant improvement in sleep for the LSH group at follow-up (P = .02).
Findings demonstrate the positive impact of the lavender intervention on three domains of self-assessed well-being are energy, vibrancy, and sleep. SAC results extend and complement prior findings of improved sleep quality.
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Explore (NY). 2016 Nov - Dec;12(6):427-435. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2016.08.004. Epub 2016 Aug 18.
Well-Being and Self-Assessment of Change: Secondary Analysis of an RCT That Demonstrated Benefit of Inhaled Lavender and Sleep Hygiene in College Students with Sleep Problems.
Author information
- 1School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 308 SE Harvard St, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Electronic address: alillehei@comcast.net.
- 2School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 308 SE Harvard St, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Abstract
CONTEXT:
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Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
