禪坐的解壓機制研究

Abstract

本論文主要研究禪坐的解壓機制。研究分為心理和生理因素，以兩組受測者（有禪坐經驗和沒有禪坐經驗）為研究對象。 在心理因素方面，本論文採用問卷調查的方式，以DASS量表來評估受測者的負面情緒狀態（沮喪depression、焦慮anxiety和緊張stress╱tension）。受測者分為兩個族群：日常生活中有禪坐練習和沒有禪坐練習的大學生。研究結果顯示，比起一般的大學生（無禪坐的族群），有禪坐習慣的大學生中有負面情緒問題的比例較低。研究中還探討了禪坐經驗、禪坐時間和禪坐次數這幾個因素對負面情緒的效應。其中發現，對於沮喪和焦慮，禪坐經驗（半年以上）是有效改善這兩種負面情緒的重要因素。 在生理因素方面，本論文主要探討心率變異（heart rate variability, HRV）和心肺相位同步（cardiorespiratory phase synchronization, CRPS）兩種生理現象。其中，心率變異巳在臨床和研究中被廣泛用來了解自主神經的功能，本論文中針對心率變異的時域和頻域特性進行分析。結果顯示禪坐中LF/HF ratio和LF norm的數值下降，而HF norm的數值上升，表示禪坐能使自主神經的交感╱副交感平衡趨向於副交感神經的活動。此外還發現，在禪坐中處於低LF/HF ratio時，心率變異會呈現規律的律動。 心肺相位同步是近期被研究的一種心肺交互作用，被認為可能反應心肺系統間處於高效能的協同運作狀態，可以減少能量的消耗。本論文中以同步觀測圖法（synchrogram）來檢測心肺相位同步現象。我們針對心電圖（ECG）和呼吸訊號進行分析，並定義三個量化參數（每次同步持續的時間長度、同步的次數、同步的時間總長度）來探討禪坐對心肺相位同步的影響。結果顯示，禪坐中心肺相位同步的次數和時間總長度明顯增加；此外，禪坐中的心肺相位同步現象會呈現4:1和5:1兩種主要的頻率比。

This dissertation is aimed to investigate the mechanisms of Chan meditation for stress manipulation. The study involving both the psychological and physiological factors was conducted for two groups of subjects who with and without Chan-meditation experience. In the psychological-factor study, a survey study was conducted by evaluating the negative emotional states of college students with and without Chan-meditation practice in their daily lives. The DASS questionnaire was used to measure the negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress/tension). The results showed that, compared with non-practitioners, much lower percentage of college students with routine Chan-meditation practice had negative-emotion problems. Other factors including experience, duration and frequency of Chan meditation are also investigated and reported in the dissertation. One significant finding suggests that meditation experience (>0.5year) is essential for effective management of depression and anxiety. In the physiological-factor study, we focused on the behaviors of heart rate variability (HRV) and cardiorespiratory phase synchronization (CRPS), based on the designed experimental protocols. HRV has being extensively employed in understanding the function of autonomic nervous system both in clinics and researches. We analyzed the HRV both in time and frequency domains. The major effects of meditation on HRV were the decrease of LF/HF ratio and LF norm as well as the increase of HF norm, which suggested the benefit of a sympathovagal balance toward parasympathetic activity. Moreover, we observed regular oscillating rhythms of the heart rate when the LF/HF ratio was small under Chan meditation. CRPS was applied to the study of cardiorespiratory interactions most recently. It may establish an effectual co-action between cardiac and respiratory systems for better preservation of bodily energy. This dissertation presents the approach of synchrogram analysis for studying the CRPS. In the synchrogram scheme, we first evaluated phase synchronization between cardiac and respiratory systems by analyzing electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration signals. In addition, three synchronization parameters (lasting length, number of epochs, and total length) were defined to examine the efficacy of Chan meditation in the cardiorespiratory phase synchronization. Statistical analysis reveals that the number of synchronous epochs and the total synchronization length significantly increase during Chan meditation. Furthermore, a predominance of 4:1 and 5:1 rhythm-ratio synchronizations was observed during Chan meditation.