Today, tomorrow, learn English naturally. 天天自然学英语
Study suggests taichi is better at reducing high blood pressure than aerobic exercise
A large team of medical researchers affiliated with several institutions in China reports that volunteers engaging regularly in tai chi for one year saw greater reductions in their systolic blood pressure than did volunteers engaging for one year in aerobic exercises. Their study is published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Prehypertension is a condition leading to hypertension, another name for chronic high blood pressure. Prior research has suggested that aerobic exercises (those that increase breathing and heart rate) can head off the development of hypertension in those with prehypertension. There have also been reports of tai chi having much the same effect.
For this new study, the researchers wanted to learn more about the impact of both activities over an entire year. To that end, they recruited 349 adult volunteers with prehypertension. The group was split approximately in half, with one subgroup committing to doing tai chi for one hour four times a week for a year, and the other subgroup doing aerobic exercises with the same frequency. The researchers took blood pressure measurements at the beginning of the study, at six months and then at 12 months.
The researchers found that tai chi had a more significant impact on reducing blood pressure than aerobic exercise. More specifically, they found that those volunteers in the tai chi group saw changes of -7.01 mmHg compared to -4.61 mmHg for those in the aerobic exercise group when tested in an office setting and walking on a treadmill.
They also found greater reductions in the tai chi group when testing the volunteer's blood pressure as they slept. In continuing to monitor the volunteers after the conclusion of the study, they found that fewer of those people who had been in the tai chi group progressed to hypertension than did those in the aerobic exercise group.
注释：
prehypertension: n
表示"高血压前期"，如：Increasing knowledge of prehypertension through health check 从健康查体来提高对高血压前期的认识
systolic: adj
表示"（心脏）收缩的"，means "of or relating to a systole or happening during a systole"，如：Both systolic and diastolic pressures are recorded. 收缩压和舒张压均可记录下来。
中文简要说明：
源自中国的传统武术太极拳好处多多，除了强健筋骨，防治失智症、帕金森氏症，改善睡眠质量，还能降血压，这种武术动作和缓，特别适合年长者，近年在西方国家也颇受欢迎。中国大陆学术机构最近发表一项研究成果显示，打太极拳降低收缩压的效果，比有氧运动更好，更有可能维持健康的血压。
此前已有研究显示，能加快呼吸速度与心率的有氧运动，能够防止高血压前期（prehypertension）症状恶化成为高血压。另有报导指出，太极拳也有同样功效。综合医疗保健新闻网站Medical Xpress、美国《纽约邮报》报导，位于北京的中国中医科学院（China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences）为了进一步研究两者对于血压的影响，招募349名高血压前期患者参与为期1年的研究。
这批受试者均为北京居民，年龄介于18岁至65岁，男女各166人、117人，在1年观测期间进行每星期4天、每天1小时的运动计划，太极拳、有氧运动（如慢跑、骑自行车）人数各半，研究之初、第6个月、第12个月各测一次血压。
在办公室环境与跑步机上步行状态测得的结果显示，太极拳组受试者的血压平均变化为-7.01毫米汞柱（mmHg），有氧运动组受试者平均变化为-4.61毫米汞柱。太极拳组受试者甚至在第6个月测量血压时，改善程度就比有氧运动组更明显。受试者睡眠期间的血压也一样，太极拳组的降幅大于有氧运动组。1年研究期结束后持续监测显示，太极拳组罹患高血压的人数比较少。
专家认为，太极拳这种「活动式冥想」的运动方式有静心效果，这很可能是低强度运动比高强度运动更能达到降低血压目标的原因。研究成果已于本月发表于《美国医学会期刊》网络开放版（JAMA Network Open）。
留言微信公众号《自然学英语LearnNaturally》，可咨询更多！