Effect of lavender essential oil on physical anxiety, worry, concentration disorder due to formal chess competition in adolescent boys

 Background: Chess competition is a psychological strain, this sport requires high strategic and cognitive thinking. Players need to think about a wide range of moves to find the best choice, which is very challenging. Stress is often defined as a (real or implied) threat of homeostasis (Trubet 2008).  Anxiety, as a causing cognitive interference in the process of attention, distorted thoughts, and unrelated to homework, causes disruption in learning process and dysfunction. (Abolghasem Hosseini). Aromatherapy is one of the treatments that has been prevalent in most countries in recent years compared to other complementary medicine drugs (Hosseini et al. 2016). One of these scents that can cause anti-anxiety and sedative properties by affecting the limbic area of the brain is lavender scent (Hassanzadeh 2018). Since chess competition is very stressful for children and adolescents due to their less experience than adults, it seems necessary to reduce this stress in order to determine the effect of lavender essential oil inhalation on anxiety, worry and competitive concentration disorder in open chess boys. Design and run a formal chess competition. Research Methodology : In a randomized field trial, 30 competitive chess boys aged 6-12 years were selected as the subjects.  Inclusion criteria were lack of disease and drug use, lack of relustige to natural aromatic substances, lack of favrism and history of participation in official chess competitions. The parents of each subject signed a written consent form with full knowledge about how to complete the competitive sports anxiety questionnaire. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups of inhalation of one drop of lavender essential oil. Inhalation of lavender essential oil inhalation was divided into two drops of water (Mesri 95). Lavender essential oil was prepared for 500g dried lavender and essential oil was extracted from it in Klevenger machine. At the time of competition and testing for inhalation of lavender aroma, fine cotton marking wound adhesive was used. Cotton adhesives were impregnated with essential oil and attached to the chin of the adhesives for 20 minutes. . To measure competitive anxiety, the questionnaire had 15 questions and the aim was to measure sports anxiety from different dimensions in athlete children (physical anxiety, worry, concentration disorder).  Its scoring spectrum is based on Likerettchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s spectrum of 4 options, which is the score of each option. The score of the options has never been 1 low2 relatively high3 very high4 this questionnaire has 3 days that has been presented with the question number related to each later. Next Physical Anxiety 2, 6, 10, 12, 14    Next Worry 1, 4, 7, 13, 15 After Concentration Disorder 3, 5, 8, 9, 11   In order to obtain the points related to each later, the total scores of that later were gathered together and in order to obtain the total score of the questionnaire, the total scores of each question were calculated. To determine the level of competitive anxiety before the competition, participants were asked to attend the club 10 days before the match at 4 pm and complete the competitive sports anxiety questionnaire and personal and health questionnaires.  The subjects were told to avoid eating any food 1 hour before completing the questionnaire. With the start of the match, the last three rounds of the competition, which is the most stressful for the players, were selected to complete the questionnaire. To complete the pre-match questionnaire, the subjects attended the tournament hall fifteen minutes before the start of the competition and sat on the platform of the tournament hall in the predetermined places where the chess players completed the competitive sports anxiety questionnaire and then went to the tournament hall, after the test, right after the end of all three final rounds of the tournament, was done with the playerchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s exit from the tournament hall. The questionnaires were completed at the site of the test under the supervision of the researchers. Results: Based on the results of one-way ANOVA test, there was no significant difference in basic levels of physical anxiety between inhalation groups of one drop of lavender, two drops and placebo(F=0.411, P=0.6670).  This increase was observed in all groups, physical anxiety of the subjects on the match day significantly higher than the baseline values (F=69.93, P=0.001,0.721). And the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (F=0.056, P=0.946, 0.004). There was a decrease in physical anxiety in the inhaler group of two drops .There was no significant difference in baseline levels of worry between groups of inhalation of one drop of lavender, two drops and placebo (F=2.64, P=0.089). The worry level of the subjects on the day of the competition was significantly higher than the baseline values (F=30.38, P=0.001, 0.530). This increase was independent of the group. (F=1.15,P=0.329,ƞ=0.079) . Inhalation of lavender essential oil could reduce the amount of concern caused by competition, which was dose-dependent reduction, so that the highest effect and in other words, a decrease in worry was observed in the inhaler group of two drops.  There was no significant difference in baseline values of concentration disorder between inhalation groups of one drop of lavender, two drops and placebo (F=0.327, P=0.724).  The concentration impairment on the day of the competition was significantly higher than the baseline values (F=14.29, P=0.001, 0.346). This increase was independent of the groupchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s factor. (F=0.57,P=0.569,ƞ=0.041). Inhalation of lavender essential oil was able to reduce the amount of impaired concentration due to competition, which was dose-dependent reduction, so that the highest effect and in other words, a decrease in the amount of concentration disorder was observed in the inhaler group of two drops. . Discussion: Lavender has been used for a long time in Iranian traditional medicine to treat some neurological diseases such as epilepsy, insomnia, restlessness and obsession (Yaghoobi 94). And proven aromatherapy slowly changes the body and mind and reduces muscle pain (Kabiri 2018). The results of this study also showed that inhalation of lavender essential oil had a significant effect on physical anxiety, worry and competitive concentration disorder resulting from participation in the official chess competition in child and adolescent chess players. With the chromatography of lavender essential oil used in the study, it was found that the highest amount was 8 and 1cinol, which has the effect of microbes and relaxation of smooth muscles, anesthenizing, anti-ellergy, lowering blood pressure and anti-inflammatory blood pressure and using it in the treatment of diseases (Jaymand 81). The presence of 8 and 1cinol in lavender compounds can reduce physical anxiety in this study. Then linalool has a higher percentage of other compounds in this plant and the analgesic effects of linalool are inhibited by naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist (Yaghoubi94). Linalool oxide is a family of oxidized oxides that are extrusors and stimulators of the nervous system. Linalyl acate is an example of asterials (Aali2017). Linalool and linalyl acate in lavender have the ability to stimulate the parasympathetic system. Therefore, this plant has sedative, analgesic and anti-perforated effects. Also, linalyl acate has narcotic and linalol properties with sedatio function, linalool is a competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors by inhibiting the activity of these receptors and causes analgesic effects (Yaghoobi 94). The characteristics mentioned for linalool and linalyl acate can also be a reason to reduce worry during the competition. Bornol diagnosed in lavender also has the effect of excretion of sumum from the body, increased energy and lively, treatment of depression (Rashidi 89). Linalol, Bornol, Nerol are a family of alcohols that are ergogenic, resusogenic, spasmotic. Camphor in Lavender is a kind of ketone that is relaxing, analgesic and digestive (Aali 2017). The existence of linalool, bornol, nerol and camphor in this plant can be a factor in reducing concentration disorder.Several studies have reported the effect of aromatherapy, especially with lavender essential oil, on anxiety and stress. Hosseini et al. (2016) in a paper on the effect of lavender essential oil on blood anxiety and cortisol in cardiac surgery volunteers again. The use of lavender is prevented from surgical anxiety, which is consistent with the results of the research by Seyed Abedini et al. (2016(, Hashemi et al.(2018). Kianpour(2016),Effati Doriani et al. (2015, ASazawa et al. (2017),Bakhsha et al. (2016) Bagheri et al,. Masri et al. (95. In a Rajabi et al.  study(2016) on the effect of inhalation of lavender essential oil on the physiological and psychological status of patients, the study showed that lavender inhalation reduced preoperative heart rate, but this intervention had no effect on stress level of patients and other physiological factors (blood pressure, respiration). However, other articles in the medical field indicate a positive effect on stress. Conclusions The results of this study showed that inhalation of lavender essential oil has a significant effect on physical anxiety, worry and competitive concentration disorder resulting from participation in the official chess competition in teenage male chess players.