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pp.465-470
This study was conducted to examine how inhaling woody essential oil during work influences attention. The indoor experiment was conducted using woody essential oil that blends Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl.) and pine (Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc.) and the control experiment was done with odorless air. The subjects were 19 high school and college students (male: 8, female: 11, average age: 19.47±3.20) and double-blind cross-over trial was conducted to identify the effect of essential oil on the body and attention. The subjects sat on the chair and closed their eyes for stabilization for 30 seconds. Then, they inhaled woody essential oil and odorless air for three minutes each. During each stimulation periods, the subjects calculated a multiplication of two digit-numbers in their minds and their heart rate variability (HRV) was measured. Physiological changes were measured using the total variation of LF/HF, which is an indicator of activities of sympathetic nerves and psychological changes were measured using the Semantic Differential Method (SD method) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). As a result, inhaling woody essential oil increased total variation of LF/HF (diffrence of LF/HF in stimulation and LF/HF in rest; ΔLF/HF) compared to inhaling odorless air and led to the activation of sympathetic nerves. Also, it increased tranquility and reduced anger (A-H) and total mental disorder (TMD) among the psychological indicators. In case of calculations, it significantly increased the number of multiplications solved, number of correct answers, and percentage of correct answers. Overall, this study showed that inhaling woody essential oil during work effectively improved the subjects' attention.
