Skip Navigation



Chemical Senses Advance Access published online on September 14, 2005
Chemical Senses, doi:10.1093/chemse/bji061
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
30/8/683    most recent
bji061v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sakamoto, R.
Right arrow Articles by Kanba, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sakamoto, R.
Right arrow Articles by Kanba, S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Accepted August 16, 2005

Article

Effectiveness of Aroma on Work Efficiency: Lavender Aroma during Recesses Prevents Deterioration of Work Performance

Reiko Sakamoto 1*, Kazuya Minoura 2, Akira Usui 3, Yoshikazu Ishizuka 4, and Shigenobu Kanba 5

1 Faculty of Human and Social Services, Yamanashi Prefectural University, 5-11-1 Iida, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan
2 Faculty of Global Policy Management and Communications, Yamanashi Prefectural University, 5-11-1 lida, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan
3 Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Tamaho, Yamanashi, Japan
4 Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City Minato Red Cross Hospital, 3-12-1 Shin-Yamashita, Nakaku, Yokohama, Japan
5 Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Reiko Sakamoto, E-mail: sakamoto{at}reiko.nu


  Abstract

The present study investigated whether exposure to aromas during recess periods affects work performance. Subjects comprised 36 healthy male students (mean age, 24.2 ± 2.2 years) who were randomly divided into three groups: (1) control group, not exposed to aroma during recesses; (2) jasmine group, exposed to jasmine aroma during recesses; and (3) lavender group, exposed to lavender aroma during recesses. All participants completed five work sessions performing a task requiring concentration on a computer monitor, with each session lasting 60 min. Recess periods of 30 min were provided between each session. To clarify the time at which work concentration was lowest, work performance for the control group was analyzed. Concentration was lowest in the afternoon period, where afternoon drowsiness is strongest. Comparison of the three groups for this time period indicated significantly higher concentration levels for the lavender group than for the control group. No such effect was noted for the jasmine group. Although lavender is a sedative-type aroma, use during recess periods after accumulation of fatigue seems to prevent deterioration of performance in subsequent work sessions.

Keywords: afternoon period; concentration; jasmine; sedative-type.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.