Participants
mental illness, epilepsy, chronic diseases, allergies, hypertension, allergic reactions
ALLERGIC REACTION, EPILEPSY, CHRONIC DISEASES, ALLERGIES, HYPERTENSION
In this study, we recruited 67 healthy university students aged 18 years or older who understood the study’s purpose and content, provided written consent, and volunteered to participate. Eligible participants were those who, to the extent that it did not impede the conduct of the study, had the ability to comprehend the Japanese language, both spoken and written, allowing them to understand the study instructions. We excluded individuals who: (1) declined to participate voluntarily; (2) regularly used aroma essential oils; (3) disliked the scent of aroma essential oils; (4) had known allergies to aroma essential oils; (5) had chronic diseases (such as hypertension or epilepsy); (6) required drug therapy for mental illness; (7) experienced allergic reactions during the patch test; (8) did not report stress from wearing masks initially; or (9) were deemed ineligible by the principal investigator. After applying these exclusion criteria, a total of 62 participants were included in the study.