Short exercise workouts can boost classroom performance

academic: Relating to school, classes or things taught by teachers in formal institutes of learning (such as a college).

anxiety: A nervous reaction to events causing excessive uneasiness and apprehension. People with anxiety may even develop panic attacks.

cognitive: A term that relates to mental activities, such as thinking, learning, remembering and solving puzzles.

EEG: Short for electroencephalography. This is a technique to detect electrical activity in the brain using electrodes that press against the outside of the head. This technique charts a series of brainwaves. A graph of the measured brainwaves is called an electroencephalogram, which (confusingly) is also abbreviated EEG.

fatigue: The feeling of being tired, listless or short on energy.

focus: (in physics) The point at which rays (of light or heat for example) converge sometimes with the aid of a lens. (In vision, verb, “to focus”) The action a person’s eyes take to adapt to light and distance, enabling them to see objects clearly. (in behavior) To look or concentrate intently on some particular point or thing.

function: The specific role some structure or device plays. (in math) A relationship between two or more variables in which one variable (the dependent one) is exactly determined by the value of the other variables.

heart rate: Heart beat; the number of times per minute that the heart — a pump — contracts, moving blood throughout the body.

high school: A designation for grades nine through 12 in the U.S. system of compulsory public education. High-school graduates may apply to colleges for further, advanced education.

monitor: To test, sample or watch something, especially on a regular or ongoing basis.

physical: (in biology and medicine) The term can refer to the body, as in a physical exam or physical activity.

psychology: (adj. psychological) The study of the human mind, especially in relation to actions and behavior. To do this, some perform research using animals. Scientists and mental-health professionals who work in this field are known as psychologists.

sensor: A device that picks up information on physical or chemical conditions — such as temperature, barometric pressure, salinity, humidity, pH, light intensity or radiation — and stores or broadcasts that information. Scientists and engineers often rely on sensors to inform them of conditions that may change over time or that exist far from where a researcher can measure them directly. (in biology) The structure that an organism uses to sense attributes of its environment, such as heat, winds, chemicals, moisture, trauma or an attack by predators.