5 Easy Tips to Improve Your Lung Health
The lungs provide the body with
life-giving oxygen at all times while removing waste carbon dioxide along the
way. In the following, we will discuss 5 easy ways to improve your lung health
along with a brief overview of how your lungs work.
Lung Health Nucleus and Bolts -
Lung Function vs. Lung Capacity
The lungs have a twofold duty to
deliver oxygen to the bloodstream while removing carbon dioxide from the body.
Every cell in the body draws oxygen from the blood and stores carbon dioxide as
waste into the bloodstream. For people living with chronic lung diseases, such
as pulmonary fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the
lungs have difficulty supplying the body with the amount of oxygen it needs.
Lung function and lung capacity
determine how efficiently the lungs deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
Lung capacity shows how much air your lungs can hold. It also affects how
quickly air enters and leaves your lungs.
Lung function is related to how
efficiently the body uses the oxygen it receives. Though lung capacity can be
increased, lung function cannot. This means improving the health of your lungs
is about increasing your lung capacity. Pulmonary exercises are designed to
help the body make better use of the available oxygen supply. Here are some
easy exercises you can do to improve lung health and make breathing easier.
5 Tips to Improve Your Lung Health
1. Diaphragm Breathing
Healthy breathing uses the
diaphragm, which is a dome-shaped sheet of muscle that runs between the chest
and abdomen. The diaphragm muscle must help the lungs fill with air by moving
downwards and then pushing the air out of the lungs as it moves back up.
Commonly known as diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing, the stomach rises and
falls with each breath.
Although the diaphragm is
supposed to be the main respiratory muscle, many people subconsciously develop
the habit of using the muscles in the shoulders, neck, and back, which severely
limit the amount of air that leaves and enters the lungs. A 2016 research study
that appears in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science aims to look at the
effects of diaphragmatic breathing on respiratory function. Using two groups of
subjects, one group did a feedback breathing exercise while the other practiced
diaphragmatic breathing. The results showed a marked increase in lung capacity
for the group practicing diaphragmatic breathing.
So, diaphragmatic breathing can
strengthen the diaphragm muscles and help the lungs work more efficiently.To do
this exercise, you need to breathe from your stomach. It helps to place one
hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest as you inhale and exhale.
Inhale through your nose for two seconds, then exhale through pursed lips for
two seconds. As you exhale, squeeze your stomach to make sure you engage your
diaphragm muscles.
2. Cursed Lip Breathing
Chronic lung conditions, such as
bronchitis and asthma, are often caused by inflamed airtips that prevent air
from circulating through the lungs. When this happens, stuffy air is trapped
inside making it difficult for the lungs to absorb new or fresh air (and
oxygen). This condition causes you to often feel short of breath. The Puckered
lip breathing forces the airtips to stay open longer as you exhale so that evaporateair
can be expelled and more fresh air can be absorbed.
The pursed lip breathing exercise
is easy to do and can be done anywhere and anytime. This exercise involves
inhaling, slowly, through the nose and exhaling through pursed lips. The goal
is to inhale twice as long as inhale, so if you inhale for five seconds, you
will want to exhale for 10 seconds.
3. Stretching the ribs
The rib stretch does exactly what
it says it does, stretching or expanding the ribs, which helps your lungs breathe
as much air as possible. This lung exercise requires you to be in a standing
position, straight with your hands on your hips. Inhale slowly until your lungs
are full. Hold your breath for 20 seconds or as long as it feels comfortable,
then exhale slowly. Relax and repeat three more times. If done regularly,
stretching the ribs helps you breathe more air into your lungs and exhale
completely so that stuffy air doesn't build up in your lungs.
4. Laugh and Sing
Any activity that works the
abdominal muscles also works on the lungs. Both laughing and singing do this. Activites
laughter not only increases your lung capacity but also forces the exaporate
air out of your lungs so that more fresh air can enter. In addition, singing
exercises the diaphragm muscles, which also helps increase lung capacity.
5. Increase Your Activity Level
Increasing your daily activity in
general can go a long way in improving the health of your lungs. Something as
easy as brisk walking or cycling not only works great as a lung exercise but
also improves your heart health and overall mood. A study sponsored by the
Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging demonstrated the benefits of replacing
just 30 minutes of relaxing time per day with strenuous activity or strength
building. Study participants had poor respiratory function due to conditions
such as asthma and COPD. The results from the study showed a marked increase in
lung capacity, enabling participants to inhale and exhale larger volumes of air
on a continuous basis.
CONCLUSION:
Following simple habits will help
keep your lungs healthy and control the disease. Currently, we can see high
levels of indoor and outdoor pollution, so protective measures are very
important. Apart from following your eating habits, precautions must be taken
to remove harmful contaminants.
Don't neglect your lungs.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle prevents lung disease. Regular checkups are
essential even when you are comfortable. Lung disease often goes undetected
until it is severe.
During the exam, the doctor will
listen to your breathing. Be sure to report symptoms such as chronic cough or
wheezing. Early detection of lung disease is the key to a fast and successful
treatment.
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