ABSTRACT
These typically relate to types of exercise, aerobic denoting sustained activity that is designed to improve the efficiency of the body’s cardiovascular system in absorbing and transporting oxygen; hence aero, meaning air, and bic, from bios, Greek for life. Aerobic exercise tends to be continuous, for twenty minutes or more. Anaerobic activity is that which does not involve oxygen: The exercise is typically short and episodic and conducted with high intensity. The maximum length of time is about three minutes, after which oxygen requirements are more than supply and a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles causes fatigue, which interferes with contraction. The conventional measure of aerobic FITNESS is VO2max, this
representing an individual’s maximal ability to take in, transport, and use oxygen during exercise without reverting to anaerobic energy systems and building up an oxygen debt; it is used as a benchmark of aerobic fitness. But, the benefits of what some researchers call chronic aerobic
exercise (that is, ten or more weeks continuous) are not confined to physiological aspects: Sustained exercise has been shown to alleviate symptoms of, among other things, DEPRESSION, state ANXIETY, and STRESS. The effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function, especially of
aging populations, has been subject to much study, the overall conclusion pointing to an improvement in EXECUTIVE CONTROL, that is, making voluntary decisions about where to direct ATTENTION and determining what the content of the short-term MEMORY should be.
