芳香療法全身精油按摩對身心品質影響之探究

本研究針對45歲以上的女性進行了質性研究，探討芳香療法全身精油按摩對睡眠品質、壓力和肌肉酸痛的影響。林昆輝曾於2018年7月3日進行心理諮商，並運用精油的芳香療法作為輔助治療，利用精油透過鼻腔傳送至嗅神經，引發生理和情緒反應能夠通過血腦屏障，影響情緒。而影響情緒的關鍵在於其中富含的色胺酸，而色胺酸是血清素的前驅物質。血清素是一種與情緒調節相關的大腦神經傳遞物質。當血清素水準不足時，人們可能會感到情緒低落，甚至有憂鬱的傾向。許多抗憂鬱藥物通過刺激或增加血清素活性來治療憂鬱症，嗅覺神經在感覺神經系統中的路徑最短，因此精油的效果會非常迅速。研究中使用丁香、茶樹、苦橙葉、薰衣草、馬鬱蘭、檸檬尤加利和精油，它們與基礎油混合後進行按摩，以探討其對身心放鬆的效果。療程設計為連續5週，每週進行一次，每次1.5小時，並使用睡眠品質、壓力、肌肉酸痛和滿意度等量表進行評估和記錄。研究結果顯示，受試者在接受療程後明顯改善了肌肉酸痛，明顯改善壓力，明顯改善睡眠品質，整體滿意度很高。具體而言，肌肉酸痛的改善在統計上有非常顯著性（p < 0.05），精油按摩療程對此項症狀具有迅速明顯改善效果。總結來說，這項研究的數據顯示，芳香療法全身精油按摩可以迅速改善肌肉酸痛、減輕壓力、提升睡眠品質效果顯著。這種療程不僅適用於繁忙且缺乏時間運動的人群，也適合於需要身心放鬆的人士，有助於保持身心健康平衡。

關鍵字

芳香療法；肌肉酸痛；睡眠品質；壓力

並列摘要

This study conducted qualitative research on women over the age of 45 to explore the effects of full-body aromatherapy essential oil massage on sleep quality, stress, and muscle soreness. Lin Kunhui conducted psychological counseling on July 3, 2018, and used aromatherapy with essential oils as an adjunct treatment. Essential oils, when transmitted through the nasal cavity to the olfactory nerves, induce physiological and emotional responses by crossing the blood-brain barrier and affecting emotions. The key to influencing emotions lies in the tryptophan contained in the essential oils, which is a precursor of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with mood regulation. When serotonin levels are insufficient, people may feel depressed and may even have a tendency towards depression. Many antidepressants treat depression by stimulating or increasing serotonin activity. The olfactory nerve has the shortest pathway in the sensory nervous system, so the effects of essential oils are very rapid. The study used clove, tea tree, bitter orange leaf, lavender, marjoram, lemon eucalyptus, and essential oils, which were mixed with base oil for massage to explore their effects on physical and mental relaxation. The treatment was designed to be carried out for five consecutive weeks, with one session per week, each lasting 1.5 hours. Sleep quality, stress, muscle soreness, and satisfaction scales were used for evaluation and recording. The results showed that participants experienced significant improvements in muscle soreness, stress, and sleep quality after receiving the treatments. Overall satisfaction was very high. Specifically, the improvement in muscle soreness was statistically significant (p < 0.05), indicating a rapid and noticeable effect of the essential oil massage treatment on this symptom. In conclusion, the data from this study indicate that full-body aromatherapy essential oil massage can rapidly improve muscle soreness, reduce stress, and significantly enhance sleep quality. This treatment is suitable not only for busy people who lack time to exercise but also for those who need physical and mental relaxation, helping to maintain a healthy balance of body and mind.