The Influence of Common Cold Massage Combined with Lavender Oil on Sleep Quality in Toddlers with Acute Respiratory Infections: A One-Group Pretest-Posttest Study

Abstract

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are common in young children and may disrupt sleep through respiratory symptoms and discomfort. Massage and aromatherapy have been investigated as complementary approaches, but evidence specific to toddlers with ARI remains limited. Objective: To evaluate the change in sleep quality before and after common cold massage combined with lavender oil in toddlers with ARI. Methods: A quantitative pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study was conducted at the Independent Midwifery Practice of Farida Rina,Kebumen, Central Java, from February to March 2025. Twenty eligible participants were recruited using total sampling. Sleep quality was assessed before and after the intervention using the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ), and paired change was analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Before the intervention, 19 participants (95%) had mild sleep problems and 1 (5%) had no sleep problem. After the intervention, 1 participant (5%) had a mild sleep problem and 19 (95%) had no sleep problem. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated a statistically significant pre-post change (Z = -4.123, p < 0.001; effect size r = 0.92). Conclusion: Sleep quality improved substantially after the intervention in this sample. However, because the study had no control group and involved a small single-site sample, the observed improvement cannot be attributed exclusively to common cold massage combined with lavender oil. The findings should therefore be regarded as preliminary and hypothesis-generating.