# The Effect of Aromatherapy on Post-Exercise Hypotension: A Pilot Study
## 3 Results  
The physical characteristics of the participants, which demonstrated no significant differences between treatments conducted 1 week apart, are presented in Table 1. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Variable** & **Mean \(\pm\) SEM** \\ \hline Age (yrs) & 22.7 \(\pm\) 0.7 \\ Weight (kg) & 75.1 \(\pm\) 2.0 \\ Height (cm) & 177.4 \(\pm\) 1.5 \\ BMI (kg\(\cdot\)m\({}^{-2}\)) & 23.8 \(\pm\) 0.5 \\ Body fat (\%) & 13.5 \(\pm\) 1.4 \\ Muscle mass (kg) & 37.1 \(\pm\) 0.9 \\ Fat mass (kg) & 10.3 \(\pm\) 1.3 \\ Resting HR (beats\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\)) & 63.1 \(\pm\) 1.8 \\ Resting SBP (mmHg) & 118.5 \(\pm\) 1.4 \\ Resting DBP (mmHg) & 67.4 \(\pm\) 1.5 \\ Resting MAP (mmHg) & 84.7 \(\pm\) 1.4 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Physical characteristics of subjects (\(n\) = 14). The HR changes (post-exercise minus pre-exercise) during the post-exercise recovery period are presented in Figure 2. We observed a significant interaction (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 602.37, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.98) and time effect (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 3.85, \(p\) = 0.01, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.23). Post hoc analysis of the time revealed that the HR significantly increased at 0, 10, and 20 min after exercise in both groups compared with the pre-exercise HR. No significant group effect (\(p\) = 0.32) indicated that the changes in HR during the recovery period did not differ between the groups. Figure 3 illustrates the changes in BP following exercise. We observed a significant interaction for SBP (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 7.06, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.35) and MAP (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 5.36, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.29) but not for DBP (\(p\) = 0.10). A significant time effect was found for SBP (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 67.90, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.94), DBP (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 23.61, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.60), and MAP (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 53.49, \(p\) < 0.001, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.84), demonstrating that PEH appeared. As a result of _post hoc_ tests, the SBP significantly decreased at 20, 30, 60, and 90 min, and the MAP significantly decreased at 30, 60, and 90 min compared with the pre-exercise values in the control group. A significant treatment effect was found for SBP (F\({}_{(1,\,13)}\) = 15.42, \(p\) < 0.01, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.44) and MAP (F\({}_{(1,\,13)}\) = 5.72.61, \(p\) = 0.03, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.29), with the _post hoc_ test results showing that the aroma group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in BP, particularly at the mid-to-late recovery time points (SBP at 20, 30, 60, and 90 min and MAP at 30, 60, and 90 min), compared with the control group. These results suggest that aroma inhalation during the recovery period after exercise enhanced PEH. The changes in the ASI (b/a ratio) during the recovery period are displayed in Figure 4. A significant interaction (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 2.05, \(p\) = 0.04, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.17) was found along with a time (F\({}_{(7,\,91)}\) = 3.32, \(p\) = 0.03, \(\eta^{2}_{\text{\,P}}\) = 0.25) and treatment effect (F\({}_{(1,\,13)}\) = 4.51, \(p\) = 0.03, \(\eta^{2 Figure 3: Changes (post-exercise values minus pre-exercise values) in (**A**) systolic blood pressure (SBP), (**B**) diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and (**C**) mean arterial pressure (MAP) during the recovery period after exercise (0–120 min) (\(n=14\)/group). CON = exposure to water vapor; AROMA = inhalation of aroma oil. Values are presented as mean \(\pm\) standard error of mean. \({}^{*}\)\(p<0.05\) compared with pre-exercise values (presumably 0). \(\dagger\)\(p<0.05\) between treatments at each time point. The BL concentration was assessed as a marker of metabolic fatigue recovery following exercise (Table 2). No significant interaction was found (\(p\) = 0.09). The time effect was significant (F\({}_{(4,\,52)}\) = 7.37, \(p\) < 0.001, \(n^{2}_{\mathrm{p}}\) = 0.64), but the treatment effect was not (\(p\) = 0.46).