對大多數的上班族而言，辦公室常是主要的工作場所，由於社會環境的變遷，工 作壓力越來越繁重、加班頻繁，長期下來對於人員健康造成了許多負面影響。辦公室 工作人員常會使用各種紓壓、解勞的產品，其中精油為常見產品之一。市售精油宣稱 具有紓解壓力及消除疲勞之功效，但缺乏科學驗證，其功效無法獲得證實。本研究目 的試圖使用腦波及心率變異度測定等生理量測技術，以評估精油吸入對消除辦公室工 作人員心智疲勞之功效，從腦波量測數據所反映之覺醒水準及認知功能，及心率變異 度所反映之心智負荷狀態來評估精油吸入對消除心智疲勞之實質功效。受測對象為辦 公室人員計40 人，分為試驗組(精油吸入)與對照組(無精油吸入)各20 人進行三個階段 之實驗測試。第一階段，受測者在進行實驗前先行接受10 分鐘之腦波及心率變異度測 試，隨即進行該天之辦公室工作，下班後進行第二階段之量測，量測10 分鐘之腦波及 心率變異度，之後試驗組受測者以精油吸入並靜坐休息15 分鐘，對照組僅靜坐休息15 分鐘，再進行第三階段量測，分別進行10 分鐘之腦波及心率變異度測試，而完成整個 實驗過程。每次腦波及心率變異度測定之後並填寫NASA-TLX 心智負荷評估量表，藉 以實施主觀疲勞評估。將實驗組及對照組之受測者三次之腦波及心率變異度測試進行 分析，藉以計算腦波基本指標、腦波比率指標及利用心率變異所推衍的自律神經活動 的指標，比較兩組在工作後，使用精油吸入與否對消除心智疲勞之差異，並與主觀疲 勞評估做交叉比較，以驗證精油吸入對消除心智疲勞之確切功效。本研究並比較不同 精油間消除疲勞效果之差異，以提供精油選用之參考。研究成果可提供職業衛生評估 工作人員疲勞度與進行疲勞管理之參考，從職業風險管理、生產力及職業衛生觀點具 實質之助益。 For most office workers, office is the main work place. Workload, overtime, more and more work pressure putting on office workers, it has resulted in negative effect on their health. Essential oils are always used to dispel fatigue by officer workers. Owing to lack of objective measured data of the effect on dispelling fatigue for essential oil, the reliability of subjective experiment from questionnaire has always been challenged. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect on dispelling mental fatigue for inhaling essential oil by using physiological indices including Electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV). Forty office workers divided into experimental and control groups with 20 subjects would respectively participate as volunteer subjects performing 3 sessions of experiment measurement. For session 1, 10 minutes of EEG and HRV would be measured from subjects before their office work. Participants could be caused substantial mental fatigue from office work, immediately after office work their EEGs and HRVs would be measured for 10 minutes as session 2. The participants of experiment group inhale essential oil and take a rest for 15 minutes, while the ones of control group only take a rest quietly for 15 minutes. For session 3, the participants’ EEGs and HRVs are measured as mentioned above after 15 minutes of rest. At the end of each EEG and HRV measures, self-report assessments of task loading were obtained by using the NASA-Task Load Index (TLX) rating scale. Three sessions of EEG and HRV measurements would be used to calculate EEG power and HRV spectrum analyses respectively. EEG basic and ratio indices and autonomic nervous system (ANS) indices are derived from EEG power and HRV spectrum respectively. Two physiological indices would be employed to compare the effects on dispelling mental fatigue for inhaling essential oil after their office work through subjects of experimental and control groups. To examine the effect on dispelling mental fatigue for inhaling essential oil, the physiological indices would be used to compare with the subjective assessment from NASA-Task Load Index (TLX) rating scale interactively. By using objective measurement, the consumer identification for effect on dispelling mental fatigue for inhaling essential oil could be obtained. The effects on dispelling mental fatigue among various essential oils would also be compared in this study. The study results would potentially offer to apply to the evaluation and the management of mental fatigue for office workers from the viewpoints of occupational risk management, productivity, and occupational health.
