Cortisol levels of mothers and infants decreased when mothers gave infants a bath in lavender-scented water. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants.
Early Hum Dev. 2008 Jun ;84(6):399-401. Epub 2007 Nov 28. PMID: 18053656
Touch Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, USA. [email protected]
Very young infants were given a bath with or without lavender-scented bath oil. The mothers in the lavender bath oil group were more relaxed, smiled and touched their infants more during the bath. Their infants looked at them a greater percentage of the bath time and cried less and spent more time in deep sleep after bath. The cortisol levels of this group of mothers and infants significantly decreased, confirming the behavioral data showing increased relaxation of the mothers and their infants. These findings support a body of research showing the relaxing and sleep-inducing properties of lavender aroma.