Final answer:
Exercise affects blood oxygen levels by creating an oxygen debt and increasing breathing rate. Certain hormones can affect the dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin. The exact mechanisms of increased breathing rate during exercise are not well understood.
Step-by-step explanation:
Exercise affects blood oxygen levels in several ways. Intense muscle activity leads to an oxygen debt, which is the amount of oxygen needed to compensate for ATP produced without oxygen during muscle contraction.
Oxygen is also required for various processes during exercise, such as restoring ATP and creatine phosphate levels, converting lactic acid to pyruvic acid, and converting lactic acid into glucose or glycogen.
These processes increase the breathing rate even after exercise has stopped.
Additionally, certain hormones can affect the oxygen-hemoglobin saturation/disassociation curve, promoting the dissociation of oxygen from hemoglobin.
The exact mechanisms behind exercise hyperpnea, where breathing rate increases, are not well understood, but factors related to the nervous system and the respiratory centers of the brain seem to play a role.
The complete question is: What are the effects of exercise on blood oxygen?