世界衛生組織已預估公元2020年，憂鬱症將名列引起失能與早夭的第二疾病。現代人從日常生活中，在生理、心理緊張的狀態之下，容易造成壓力的產生，也持續地累積卻不自覺。有人藉由聆聽音樂或觀賞影片來放鬆，也有人藉由芳香療法來紓壓，但至今判定紓壓效果之工具多使用問卷，而問卷結果受填寫者主觀及給分策略影響，並不客觀。若欲以客觀之生理訊號判別受測者放鬆程度，各文獻多選擇心電訊號，但心電訊號量測仍具一些問題，包含使用濕電極貼片、需三點量測、受測者具電安全性之疑慮…等，現今仍無法簡易且客觀地測知各種紓壓方式對自身放鬆程度的影響。
本研究設計了一套便於操作且分析迅速的量測流程，藉由收集使用者的末梢血流訊號，替代心電訊號來分析評估使用者的自律神經運作狀態，進而評估使用者之放鬆程度。本研究亦提出一套新的紓壓方法，探討各紓壓方式之間是否具有加成性及受測者喜好是否影響紓壓方式之放鬆效果。
研究結果發現，末梢血流訊號可評定出受測者放鬆程度的變化，生理訊號中低高頻比和STAI問卷評分相關係數平均達0.82，達高度正相關性；紓壓方式間是否具有加成性部分，本研究同時使用具關聯性之音樂、氣味、及影像對受測者進行紓壓實驗，受測者低高頻比下降44%，優於單純使用音樂的32%；實驗結果也顯示受測者喜好與紓壓方式之放鬆效果具高度正相關性，喜好程度與紓解短期壓力效果之相關係數為0.824，略高於其與紓解長期壓力效果的0.807。
本研究提出之量測方式改善了固有方式之不便，也解決問卷過於主觀之問題，期望除了有助於放鬆相關領域研究之進行外，也讓社會大眾可隨時掌握自身自律神經運作狀況，並挑選出適合自己的放鬆方式，以達到身心均健康之目的。

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that depression will be the number two cause of "lost years of healthy life" worldwide by the year 2020. Nowadays, people experience more nervous conditions than ever, including physical and mental aspects, and they would bring out pressure which might be accumulated if we do nothing to release it. Some people are used to relaxing themselves by listening to music or watching videos, and some choose aromatherapy to relieve stress. Till now most of the studies use questionnaires to judge the levels of the users’ relaxation condition, but it’s not objective because the result would be affected by the users’ subjectivities and grading strategies. As to estimating relaxation condition through physiology signal, most studies choose Electrocardiography (ECG), but the method of collecting ECG signals wouldn’t be convenient enough and its signal is electrical signal, which would make some users have misgivings of the safety as operating such devices. Even though there are numbers of ways to relax, but few people could measure easily the level of relaxation and the physiology influence that the various ways result in.
This study designs a measure and analysis procedure which is easy to operate and the data could be analyzed rapidly. The system is designed to estimate the users’ regulation conditions of autonomic nervous system (ANS) through analyzing the users’ photoplethysmography (PPG) signals instead of ECG. The study also designs a new therapy of virtual relaxation to study whether different relaxation methods could be integrated or not and if the users’ reception would affect the relaxation results.
Study result shows that subjects’ relaxation conditions could be estimated by analyzing their photoplethysmography (PPG) signals, and the average correlation coefficient between LF/HF and STAI questionnaire is 0.82, which represents highly positive relationship. The study integrates relative music, odors, and video to construct visual relaxation therapy, and the experiment results shows that subjects’ LF/HF drops 44%, which is higher than 32%, the result by music therapy. The experiment result also shows highly positive relationship between the subjects’ fondness and the result of the relaxation therapy. The correlation coefficient between fondness and short-term stress relaxation is 0.824, and that between fondness and long-term stress relaxation is 0.807.

The study provides a new method to obtain subjects’ regulation conditions of ANS, and it not only improves the inconvenience of traditional ECG measurement, but resolves the subjectivity that questionnaires would bring out. We hope that the study would be helpful for future research about relaxation, thereby, people would be able to have their ANS conditions in hand and choose the most suitable method to relax, and finally develop a physically and mentally healthy life.

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