The collaborative research group of Assistant Professor Eri Eguchi, Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and her colleagues have revealed that there is the improvement in blood pressure, anxiety, and quality of life (QOL) by performing 45 minutes self-administered aroma foot massage, 3 or 4 times a week.

The findings were published online March 24, 2016 in “PLos One”.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151712

There were 57 participants between the ages of 27 to 72 in this study. They performed 45 minutes of aroma foot massages on themselves under the instructor’s supervision. The room temperature and humidity were 38 ˚C and 65%. The specific blended oil was used; the jojoba oil blended with lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, ylang-ylang, and marjoram. The participants performed the procedures 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Blood pressure, heart rate, state of anxiety, and health-related QOL were measured at the baseline, 4-week follow-up, and 8-week follow-up.
The result shows that there are significant improvement in blood pressure, state of anxiety, and mental health-related QOL in the participants. These findings indicate that the administered aroma foot massages can be an easy and effective way to improve mental health and blood pressure for the Japanese community.

Contact Information
Mototaka Senda, Ph.D.
Director, Okayama University Silicon Valley Office
Organization for research Promotion and Collaboration, Okayama University
2450 Peralta Blvd. #222
Fremont, CA 94536

Eri Eguchi MPH, Ph.D.
Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences