Lavender oil helps those with dementia sleep longer

by KARE 11:A new study done in Minnesota shows that lavender oil helps people with dementia sleep longer, and possibly longer than popular prescription sleep medication.Sometimes those with dementia can have difficulty sleeping so English Rose Suites Memory Care Homes partnered with Health partners Center for Memory and Aging to conduct the clinical trial.The study looked at 22 residents over three weeks and found that those who had lavender oil applied to their skin before bedtime slept longer... quite a bit longer.Leah Hanson, Director of Research for Health Partners Center for Memory and Aging said, "We found that on average, people slept 42 more minutes each night when they were using lavender oil versus using a placebo oil. In addition we found a 6% increase in sleep efficiency. And most importantly we did not see any side effects during the trial."Owner of the English Rose Suites, Jayne Clairmont, said, "If you look into the medication Ambien which I see used a lot across the country in memory care, it is about a 13 minute benefit that it puts you into REM sleep versus 42.5 minutes with the lavender."Clairemont's numbers on Ambien come from an analysis on seeping pills, that showed on average they increase sleep by just over 12 minutes. Drug makers say they have studies that show better results.Hanson said the results of the lavender oil study were surprising. They now hope to conduct a larger study with 100 residents.