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MS-N168 · Aromatherapy · Fatigue and sleep support · Hematologic malignancies · Single-blind randomized trial · Appraised 28 October 2026

Can short-course inhaled lavender oil improve sleep quality and fatigue during chemotherapy for hematologic malignancies?

Evidence at a glance

  • Evidence label: Promising short-term signal; limited and difficult to blind
  • Benefit: Among 100 completers, the lavender group reported better sleep quality and lower fatigue after five nights than the saline-control group.
  • Certainty: Low. Twenty of 120 randomized participants did not complete the study, outcomes were self-reported, exposure lasted only five days and odor makes blinding difficult.
  • Risk: People with essential-oil allergy were excluded. Inhaled oils can cause headache, nausea, airway irritation or allergic symptoms; ingestion was not studied.

What was studied

Adults with hematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy were randomized to inhale lavender essential oil or physiologic saline for 20 minutes before bedtime on five consecutive nights. One hundred twenty were randomized and 100 completed (50 per group). Sleep was measured with the Richards–Campbell Sleep Questionnaire and fatigue with the Piper Fatigue Scale. NCT05808296 was registered after the study began.

What the evidence found

Mean sleep-quality score was 70.80 with lavender and 59.16 with control (P=0.001). Total fatigue and behavioral, sensory and cognitive fatigue subscales also favored lavender (P values reported as <0.05; total P=0.001). Longer-term persistence, clinical-importance thresholds and adverse-event frequencies were not clearly established.

How to interpret it

The result concerns immediate symptom scores after a very short exposure. It does not establish benefit over weeks of treatment, and saline does not mimic lavender odor, so expectancy may contribute. It says nothing about cancer control.

Practical safety context

Do not ingest essential oil or apply undiluted oil to skin. Avoid use around oxygen, open flames, severe asthma or known fragrance allergy. Stop for wheeze, dizziness, headache, nausea or rash and discuss environmental exposure with the treatment unit.

Questions for the care team

  • Was the oil and delivery method the same as in the study?
  • Could fragrance trigger asthma, migraine or nausea?
  • How will we tell a short-term comfort effect from meaningful sleep improvement?

Funding and conflicts

The authors declared no competing interests. Funding was not verified from the accessible report and is recorded as not reported for this appraisal.

Sources

Last literature search: 28 October 2026. Record appraisal: 28 October 2026. This page is educational and does not replace individualized medical advice. Symptom, biomarker or observational findings must not be interpreted as proof of tumor control, recurrence prevention or longer survival unless those outcomes were directly tested.