Kata Kunci

Abstrak

Background: Focus is the main thing for learning, but students still come across distractions in their environment, anxiety, and mental fatigue. Essential oil aromatherapy may improve cognitive functions through neurophysiological mechanisms. Objective: To find out if the combination of ginger and lemon essential oils would help concentration of midwifery students during self-directed learning. Methods: 92 Andalas University midwifery students were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental (aromatherapy, n=46) and control (n=46). The ginger- lemon aromatherapy (40:60 ratio) was given to the experimental group by a ultrasonic diffuser during four weekly 90-minute tutorials. Concentration was determined through a 20-item questionnaire that was validated and which assessed motivation, sustained attention, anxiety regulation, comprehension efficiency, and distraction resistance. Results: Concentration of the experimental group raised significantly from 2.388 to 4.243 (p<0.001, Cohen's d=14.52), whereas the control group did not show any change (p=0.075). The main changes: 37% of the distraction resistance was increased, 23% of the comprehension efficiency was enhanced, and 10% of the anxiety was reduced. Conclusion: Ginger-lemon aromatherapy is an effective way to hype up concentration in learning from different angles by the synergistic anxiolytic and cognitive-stimulating mechanisms, thus giving a simple, cheap educational intervention.