During sport, the lungs work harder to provide enough oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide.
Short-term adaptation of the lungs during sport (at the beginning of the activity)
During the effort, the areas of the brain that control breathing are stimulated by several factors:
*information from receptors in muscles and tendons,
*the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood and the decrease in that of oxygen,
*increased adrenaline, etc.
Long-term adaptation of the lungs during sport (during activity)
Athletes, especially those who regularly practice an endurance sport, learn to focus on increasing the volume of inspired air (by breathing more deeply) rather than the acceleration of the ventilatory frequency.
After the activity:
The brain regulates the pulmonary (and cardiac) activity by bringing it back to normal once the recovery is over.
Active recovery is important to ensure the recovery of the energy reserves consumed at the beginning of the exercise during anaerobic phases.
This reconstitution is proportional to the amount of oxygen that was lacking during exercise (the "oxygen debt"), especially at the beginning, before the cardiovascular and respiratory systems managed to adjust their rhythm. Warming up, by increasing the heart and breathing rates before the start of the exercise, helps to limit the oxygen debt.
