Marathon Nina and the Neurons

# If you've got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help Cos she's got a science show

# She makes sense of her senses While helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue

-# Fingers

-Fingers

-# Eyes

-Eyes

-Ears

-Ears

-# Nose

-Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke he helps us with our eyes And Felix with our touch

# Ollie sniffs out smells and scents And Belle she hears so much

# Bud is Ollie's brother He helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons And they're coming to your place

-# Touch your tongue

-Tongue

-# Fingers

-Fingers

-# Eyes

-Eyes

-Ears

-Ears

-# Nose

-Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know, yeah!

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

49, 50! Oh, hello there.

I'm a bit out of breath because I've been exercising.

-BEEPING

-Oh, I hear a beep, I see a flash,

I wonder what they're going to ask.

-Hi, Nina.

-Hi.

-We've got a question for you.

Why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

That's a great question -

why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

I know all about that.

I'm still a bit out of breath after doing those star jumps.

Why don't you come to my lab and investigate?

-See you soon, Nina, bye.

-Bye.

I'm going to need some help to answer this one,

and I know just who to ask. OK, Neurons, time to get to work.

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is -

why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

Which Neuron will be most useful in helping us find the answer?

ALL: Me! Me! Me! Oh, me!

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages to brain from ear. If there's a sound, I'll help you hear.

Will it be lovely Luke?

For looking and seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

Will it be awesome Ollie?

If it's pongy or whiffy but you can't tell,

my messages help your sense of smell.

Or will it be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet, I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat!

It's Ollie and Bud!

CHANTING: Go, Ollie! Go, Bud!

-Yippee! It's you and me, sis.

-Stand by for a taste and smell-athon.

Today's question is - why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

Because we breathe through our mouth and nose,

Bud and Ollie will be helping us.

I need to get the lab ready before the experimenters arrive.

Maha likes colouring and painting.

Rani likes playing with her dollhouse.

Adam likes action heroes.

Running in the park is fun.

Sometimes I get tired when I run.

Why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

They all want to know -

why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

So today, for one day only,

Adam, Rani and Maha become the experimenters.

-Hi, guys.

-Hi, Nina.

Welcome to my lab and thank you for your question -

why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

To find out the answer, let's start by using our senses.

ALL: Whoop whoo! A senses experiment. We're ready, Nina.

We're going to find out what happens to our breathing

when we exercise, so let's start by counting your breaths

when you've not been doing any exercise.

Ooh! I hope they breathe through their nose, Nina.

Hey! Mouths are good for breathing too!

You can breathe through your mouth or your nose,

but I need you to feel the breaths

and I want you to count how many in breaths you take.

And start counting.

You can use your fingers.

-Oh, stop counting!

-TIMER BEEPS

-So, how many breaths did you take?

-Three.

-Four.

-Five.

Brilliant. Now let's count how many breaths you take

when you've been doing some exercise.

So start running on the spot.

Go!

That's it, good running.

And stop.

And start counting your in breaths again.

-TIMER BEEPS

-Stop counting.

How many breaths did you take?

-Hold your fingers up.

-Seven.

-Six.

-Six.

So you all took more breaths when you'd been exercising.

-And were your breaths bigger than normal?

-Yes.

That's right. When we exercise, we do take bigger breaths

and that's because our bodies need more of the stuff we breathe in.

Does anyone here know what that is?

-Air.

-Yes. We breath in air. Our bodies need air to work properly.

And when we exercise, our bodies need more air than normal.

OLLIE: Why do our bodies need more air when we exercise, Nina?

Very good question, Ollie.

To find out more, let's go and meet someone

who does lots and lots of exercise.

OLLIE: Off we go for another adventure.

Nina said we are going to meet someone

who does lots of exercise.

I wonder what type of exercise they do.

Maybe high jump or long jump or...

Star jump! Oh, Nina likes those.

Calm down, little Bud. We're here.

So, you asked - why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

And so far we've found out that our bodies need air to work properly.

But why do our bodies need more air when we exercise

and do athlete's bodies work in the same way?

Well, to find out, we're going to meet someone

who does lots and lots of exercise.

Sammy is a long-distance para-athlete.

She does really long races.

Some of them take hours to complete, like marathons.

-Hi, Sammy.

-Hi, everyone.

-Hi.

-Thanks for joining us.

Now, Sammy races in her wheelchair

and she uses her arm muscles to power the wheelchair.

Can you show us your arm muscles, please, Sammy?

Hey! And of course, we have arm muscles too,

so show me your muscles.

Yeah!

Muscles make our arms move

and they need the air that we breathe to work properly

and when we exercise, our muscles work more

so they need more air to keep working properly.

Let's play a game to show us what happens when we exercise.

Over there we have a pretend arm with big muscles

and here we have a big mouth and a nose.

We've got some balloons and we're going to pretend

that this is the air we breathe in.

So I'd like you guys to take this air over to the muscles in the arm.

Every time air reaches the muscles,

Sammy will be able to keep them working

and the arm will move.

First, let's look at what happens when you or I exercise.

-Are you ready, experimenters?

-Yeah!

Here you go, Rani. Walking over.

And walking back, very good.

Go, Adam!

That's it. Well done, experimenters.

The air is getting to the muscles and helping the arm to move.

-But the arm kept slowing down, Nina.

-Well spotted.

So the muscles didn't get enough air

to keep working properly all the time.

So they slowed down.

Now let's see what happens in an athlete's body, like Sammy's.

Go!

That's it, we're going faster now, you can run.

That's it!

The big arm is speeding up.

That's it. Really good.

Oh, well done, experimenters. Now did the arm slow down this time?

No, it kept going.

That's right. When you moved the air the first time,

you were much slower at getting air to the muscles

and that's what happens when you or I exercise.

The second time, you were quicker getting air to the muscles

and that's what happens in an athlete's body like Sammy.

She can move air to her muscles faster than we can.

And that means her muscles can keep working properly

so she doesn't slow down.

That's why athletes can move faster than us for longer.

Why does she not get out of breath, Nina?

That's a great question.

Let's go back to the lab for one final experiment.

-Thank you so much, Sammy, bye.

-Bye.

Now, what happens when you run as fast as you can?

I have to stop, Nina.

Yes. That's because when we get too out of breath,

there isn't enough air to keep our muscles working

so we have to stop moving.

Now, let's imagine that these balls are the air inside your body.

In a moment, the balls are going to start dropping

out of this side of the tank.

This is like when you exercise as hard as you can

and your body uses up lots of air,

and your job is to add more air to the tank.

Now, each bucket of air is like a breath.

This line shows how much air you need in your body

to keep your muscles working properly.

So if the balls go below this line,

your muscles won't have enough air so you'll have to stop exercising.

Are you ready?

Yes, Nina.

Go!

-That's it.

-Come on, experimenters! Keep above the line.

I don't think they can.

The balls are dropping through the hole too fast.

And stop, stop, stop.

The balls have gone below the line.

Your bucket breaths couldn't keep enough air in the body

to keep exercising.

Let's try the experiment again on this side of the tank

and this is like when you're not going as fast as you can.

Ready...

Go!

NINA LAUGHS

And stop. Stop!

Fantastic. This time you managed to keep the tank topped up with air.

So why do you think that was?

The balls weren't coming out as fast.

That's right. You guys were like tank one.

When you run as fast as you can,

your muscles use up lots of air very quickly.

You can't breathe in enough air to keep your muscles working

properly, so you have to stop.

Sammy is like the second tank that stayed above the line.

She does what athletes call pacing themselves.

This means she races a bit slower than her top speed

so her muscles don't use up the air too quickly.

# Nina and the Neurons! #

So, your question was -

why do we get out of breath when we play sport?

And I think we've answered it.

-BUD:

-We found out that we breathe faster when we play sport

and take bigger breaths to get more air.

-FELIX:

-Our muscles need air to work properly.

Athletes are better at getting air to their muscles

which is why they can go faster than us. Zoom!

-LUKE:

-But pacing ourselves when we exercise

can help keep us going longer by not getting too out of breath.

OLLIE: And marathon runners learn to pace themselves

so they can go for hours without having to stop.

I hope that's answered your question.

Thanks, Nina, bye.

You're welcome, bye.

If you want to know more about the science that's all around us,

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun.

On your marks, get set...

Go!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# If you're itching for some exercise

# From your head down to your toes

# Toes!

# Why not try out something new and give it a real go?

# Go!

# Whenever you are restless and feeling kind of bored

# Bored!

# Grab your friends and go outside and try a brand-new sport!

# Ooooooooooh!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Spinning, throwing running, jumping!

# Lots of fun to do!

# Cycling, diving, sliding, rolling!

-# It's really up to you

-Yoo-hoo!

# If you're wondering how a swimmer swims or a bike can go so fast

# Give it a bash and make it last

# It's time to go get sporty!

# Ooooooooh!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo!

# Get sporty! Doo-bee doo-bee doob doob doo-bee doo doo! #

And remember, whether it's inside, outside,

on a bike or in a pool, we can all try something new and get sporty.

See you again soon, bye.

ALL: Bye!

Get Sporty!