Research summary · Controlled experiment · 2014
Scent in a waiting room: comfort, pleasantness and perceived waiting time
In a controlled experiment with 63 people at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, a waiting room scented with lavender was rated significantly more comfortable than an unscented one, and more pleasant and warm. Orange made the room seem brighter. Both scents tended to make the wait feel shorter, but not significantly.
Reviewed by Simon Faure-Field · 8 October 2026 · Checked against the full text
At a glance
Key findings
- 63participants from 32 countries, in three groups of 21.
- Comfortrated significantly higher in the lavender-scented room than in the unscented room.
- Not significantShorter estimated waits with scent did not reach statistical significance.
The study
Citation and study details
Citation: Vilaplana, A., & Yamanaka, T. (2014). The waiting room: Improving space through smell. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Kansei Engineering and Emotion Research (KEER 2014) (pp. 255–267). Linköping University Electronic Press.
Read the original: Full paper (PDF, Linköping University Electronic Press)
- Study typeControlled experimentAcademic conference paper
- Sample63 participantsFrom 32 countries, 21 per group
- SettingA deliberately plain waiting roomUniversity of Tsukuba, Japan
- Evidence gradeB: controlled experimentComfort and perceived time
Method
What the researchers did
Participants waited alone for five minutes in an unscented, orange-scented or lavender-scented room, without knowing that the waiting room was the experiment.
Participants were told they were in a study rating architectural images, and were asked to wait while equipment was prepared. In fact, the waiting room was the experiment. The room was chosen for its unwelcoming qualities: cold, sparsely furnished, small and irregularly shaped. Phones, watches and books were collected beforehand so participants would pay attention to the room.
Orange and lavender essential oils were diffused with an ultrasonic diffuser for 15 minutes before each session, and the room was cleared of scent between sessions. After five minutes, participants rated the room on nine properties, their comfort and how long they felt they had waited, and only then were told about the scent.
Results
What they found
Lavender made the room feel more comfortable, pleasant and warm; orange made it seem brighter.
Comfort was rated significantly higher with lavender than with no scent (p = .015). Pleasantness and warmth were also higher with lavender, at the threshold of statistical significance (p = .05).
Orange tended to make the room seem brighter and its ceiling higher, but these differences were not statistically significant. Participants liked the two scents equally, and rated lavender as stronger.
Estimated waiting time was shortest with lavender and next shortest with orange, but the differences were not statistically significant. The authors conclude that the scents mainly affected the psychological qualities of the room rather than its physical ones.
Limitations
Limitations
A small laboratory study with a short, artificial wait.
Each group had 21 people, who waited only five minutes in a university room rather than a real service setting, and none was facing the stress of a real appointment. Results could differ in a busy clinic or office.
As a conference paper, the study was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, and several results sit right at the threshold of significance, so they need replication.
A note on the evidence
How strong is this evidence?
Small but well controlled, with a useful design.
Because participants did not know the waiting room was being studied, their expectations are less likely to have shaped the results. The sample is small and the setting artificial, but the finding that lavender made the room more comfortable is consistent with the waiting-room studies in healthcare settings.
For commercial spaces
What it means for commercial spaces
For any business with a waiting area, the study suggests a calming scent can make a plain, uninviting room feel more comfortable and pleasant, at far lower cost than a refurbishment. It should not be relied on to make waits feel shorter. The authors also found that with lavender, liking fell as perceived strength rose, so a lighter touch may work better.
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How to cite this summary
Scent Swirl. (2026). Summary of Vilaplana & Yamanaka (2014), The waiting room: Improving space through smell. Scent Research Library. https://scentswirl.com/research/vilaplana-yamanaka-2014-lavender-waiting-room/ (last reviewed 8 October 2026 by Simon Faure-Field).
This summary has been checked against the full paper. If you spot an error or know of a study we should add, we would like to hear from you.
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