Research summary · Field experiment · 2014
Lavender and music in a surgeon’s waiting room: each calmed patients, together they did not
In a plastic surgeon’s waiting room, lavender scent on its own and relaxing music on its own each lowered patients’ anxiety. Used together, they did not. Neither changed how long the wait felt.
Reviewed by Simon Faure-Field · 8 October 2026 · Checked against the full text
Part of our evidence review: Does scent reduce anxiety in dental and medical waiting rooms?
At a glance
Key findings
- 117patients in a plastic surgeon’s waiting room in Germany.
- 3.51average anxiety with lavender alone, against 3.95 with neither scent nor music (5-point scale).
- 71%of patients in the scent condition noticed the scent.
The study
Citation and study details
Citation: Fenko, A., & Loock, C. (2014). The influence of ambient scent and music on patients’ anxiety in a waiting room of a plastic surgeon. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 7(3), 38–59.
Read the original: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24782235
- Study typeField experiment2 × 2 design: scent and music
- Sample117 patientsAged 14–88, 76% women
- SettingA plastic surgeon’s waiting roomRecklinghausen, Germany
- Evidence gradeA: direct field evidenceReal patients before appointments
Method
What the researchers did
After pre-testing scents and music for relaxation, the researchers tested lavender and music separately and together in a working waiting room.
In two pre-studies with 21 people, eight scents were rated for pleasantness and relaxation. All were similarly pleasant, but lavender was rated the most relaxing and orange among the least. Instrumental music with nature sounds was rated the most relaxing style of music.
The main study ran for about seven weeks in 2012 at a plastic surgery practice in Recklinghausen, Germany, with four conditions: no scent or music (28 patients), lavender only (28), music only (33) and both (28). The researchers first used three diffusers; after patients said the scent was too intense, they used two. Patients rated their anxiety while waiting, and their waiting time and the room afterwards.
Results
What they found
Lavender alone and music alone each reduced anxiety; the combination did not.
On a 5-point anxiety scale, patients who waited with neither scent nor music averaged 3.95. With lavender alone the average was 3.51, and with music alone 3.43; both reductions were statistically significant. With scent and music together the average was 3.77, which was not significantly different from the control.
Scent and music had no effect on how patients rated the waiting room or on how long they felt they had waited. Actual waiting time, which ranged from 5 minutes to 3 hours with an average of 50 minutes, was what shaped perceived waiting time.
In the scent condition, 71.4% of patients said they had noticed the scent, and they rated it as fairly pleasant and relaxing. The authors suggest that combining two stimuli raised arousal in patients who were already anxious, cancelling out the calming effect of each.
Limitations
Limitations
One practice, open windows and an older patient group.
The study took place in one practice, and the waiting-room door and windows were always open, which may have changed how the scent was perceived. About 30% of patients did not notice the scent or music. Many participants were 70 or older, and the sense of smell declines with age.
The analysis found no overall main effect of scent or of music; the reductions appear in the comparisons between conditions, alongside a significant interaction between scent and music.
A note on the evidence
How strong is this evidence?
Moderately strong: a well-designed field experiment with a clear practical lesson.
The 2 × 2 design makes this one of the more informative studies in the library: it shows not only that a calming scent can help, but that adding more ambient stimuli can undo the benefit. With about 28 patients per condition, it is still a small study, and its results need replication.
For commercial spaces
What it means for commercial spaces
For clinics and other waiting rooms where people arrive anxious, the study supports using one calming cue at a time. A lavender scent at a strength patients could notice, with no music competing with it, was the condition that helped. Scent should not be expected to make long waits feel shorter: managing actual waiting times matters far more. The authors suggest the effects may differ in places where people are bored rather than anxious, such as retail.
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How to cite this summary
Scent Swirl. (2026). Summary of Fenko & Loock (2014), The influence of ambient scent and music on patients’ anxiety in a waiting room of a plastic surgeon. Scent Research Library. https://scentswirl.com/research/fenko-loock-2014-scent-music-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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