Impact of summer savory essential oil on the psycho-emotional state and mental performance of the elderly

Abstract

The studies were conducted with participation of 280 people (140 people were divided into 3 experimental groups and 140 people represented 3 control groups) aged 55 to 80 years. During the study, the testees were in darkened rooms at rest (sitting position) in groups of 10-12 people. For the experimental group the essential oil of summer savory was sprayed in the room for 10, 20 or 30 minutes in a concentration of 1 mg / m3, alongside with psychorelaxation recording. The main components of the essential oil are: carvacrol (51.11%), y-terpinene (21.05%) and p-cimene (13.94%), in much smaller quantities a-terpinene (3.11%), apinene (1.70%) and f-myrcene (1.44%), the remaining components are in concentrations not higher than 1 %. Participants in the control group were played only psychorelaxation recording lasting 10, 20 or 30 minutes. The condition of the testees before and after treatments in control and experimental groups was assessed using hospital scale of anxiety and depression test, word recognition testing with missing letters, correction task, well­ being questionnaire according to the method Dembo-Rubinstein in the modification of A. M. Prikhozhan. The obtained data were statistically processed using Student's t-test for bound and unbound series. It has been found out that the inhalation of vapors of summer savory essential oil {Satureja hortensis L.) in a concentration of 1 mg/m3 has a strong positive effect on indicators of anxiety and depression and self-esteem of emotional state and psychical tonus of the elderly, as well as during simple and complex mental work. The positive effect of summer savory essential oil on indicators of anxiety and depression and on simple mental work appear in all studied experiments of different duration of exposure (10, 20 and 30 minutes). It contributes to a better self-assessment of psycho-emotional state and psychical tonus and on complex mental work at treatments 10 and 20 minutes long.