Peng Shu-Ming, Koo Malcolm, Yu Zer-Ran
Department of Psychiatry, Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Dalin, Chiayi, Taiwan.
J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Jan;15(1):53-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0243.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of listening to soft music or inhaling Citrus bergamia aroma on autonomic nervous system activity in young healthy individuals. STUDY DESIGN, LOCATION, AND SUBJECTS: This single-institution study was an open-label randomized controlled trial carried out on 114 healthy undergraduate students at a university located in south Taiwan.
Participants were randomly allocated to one of four study groups including (1) a music group, (2) an aroma group, (3) a combined music and aroma group, and (4) a control group. Participants in the music group were asked to listen to preselected soft music for 15 minutes, and those in the aroma group were asked to inhale Citrus bergamia essential oil vapor generated from an ultrasonic atomizer for 15 minutes.
The outcome measure involved heart rate variability (HRV) indices measured before and after the intervention. The low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) components of the HRV were used to quantify modulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.
The percentage changes of normalized LF (p = 0.003), normalized HF (p = 0.001), and the ratio of LF to HF (p < 0.001) were significantly different among the four groups. Tukey's post hoc analysis revealed that the percentage change of normalized LF and HF were significantly different between the control group and the music group. For the percentage change of the ratio of LF to HF, the negative change in the music group, the aroma group, and the combined group was significantly different from that of the increase in the control group. In addition, no significant differences were found in the percentage changes in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean heart rate in the four groups.
Listening to soft music and inhaling Citrus bergamia essential oil was found to be an effective method of relaxation, as indicated by a shift of the autonomic balance toward parasympathetic activity in young healthy individuals.
本研究旨在探讨聆听轻柔音乐或吸入佛手柑香气对年轻健康个体自主神经系统活动的影响。
研究设计、地点和受试者：这项单机构研究是一项开放标签随机对照试验，对台湾南部一所大学的114名健康本科生进行。
参与者被随机分配到四个研究组之一，包括（1）音乐组，（2）香气组，（3）音乐与香气联合组，以及（4）对照组。音乐组的参与者被要求聆听预先选定的轻柔音乐15分钟，香气组的参与者被要求吸入由超声波雾化器产生的佛手柑精油蒸汽15分钟。
观察指标包括干预前后测量的心率变异性（HRV）指标。HRV的低频（LF）和高频（HF）成分用于量化自主神经系统交感和副交感分支的调节。
四组之间标准化LF的百分比变化（p = 0.003）、标准化HF的百分比变化（p = 0.001）以及LF与HF的比值（p < 0.001）存在显著差异。Tukey事后分析显示，对照组与音乐组之间标准化LF和HF的百分比变化存在显著差异。对于LF与HF比值的百分比变化，音乐组、香气组和联合组的负向变化与对照组的正向变化存在显著差异。此外，四组的收缩压、舒张压和平均心率百分比变化均无显著差异。
在年轻健康个体中，聆听轻柔音乐和吸入佛手柑精油被发现是一种有效的放松方法，自主平衡向副交感活动的转变表明了这一点。
