Cities of the world are full of air pollution and we breathe their air all the time. We breathe in toxins, cigarette smoke, and exhaust gases. All these things contribute to damaging our lungs and cause breathing problems. We don’t put in much effort to make our lungs healthy.
To keep the rest of the body healthy, maintaining the health of the lungs is vital. According to WHO, more than 4.2 million people die each year worldwide because of air pollution. This makes it clear that we are not giving due attention to the health of our lungs.
Adopting certain habits can make your lungs healthier. Take notes!
5 Habits That Help Keep Your Lungs Healthy
- Quit Smoking.
- Exercise Regularly.
- Avoid Being Exposed to Pollutants.
- Deep Breathing.
- Prevent Infections.
Quit Smoking
It is common knowledge that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. There’s a variety of several other breathing disorders and diseases that can be caused by smoking. This includes idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, asthma, and so on. Smoking contributes to making these diseases more severe.
Smoking also contributes to atherosclerosis. This increases your risk of having and dying from heart failure. Every time you light up a cigarette, you plan to inhale thousands of toxic chemicals into your lungs. This includes tar, carbon monoxide, and nicotine. These toxins are damaging. They increase the amount of mucus and as a result, breathing gets difficult. Your lungs are unable to cleanse themselves. This ends up in inflamed, irritated tissues, and narrow airways. Smoking is also known to make your lungs age rapidly.
If you want to make your lungs healthy, quit smoking today! No matter how old a smoker you are, quitting always helps. Within 12 hours of quitting smoking, the level of carbon monoxide in the blood drops to normal. Soon enough, your lung functioning will improve.
Exercise Regularly
Squeeze out some time to indulge in an exercise regimen of some sort. It is very important for your health and wellbeing. Not only working out can keep your body in shape, but it also keeps your lungs in shape. If you have a tendency towards obesity, you will experience shortness of breath initially. Running makes you fit but you can choose any exercise type that you like. Because, when you exercise, your lungs have to work harder. You need more oxygen to fuel up your muscles. This makes the lungs to step up their activity and deliver the required amount of oxygen while expelling carbon dioxide.
Just make sure you squeeze out at least half an hour everyday to workout. If you have a packed routine, consider looking up office yoga poses. You can easily do them during your office breaks. We would suggest preferring aerobic exercise because they make you breathe harder.
Avoid Being Exposed to Pollutants
Exposure to air pollutants can damage your lungs. It also contributes to accelerating aging. When the lungs are strong and young, they resist the toxins. But as you age, they age too and lose resistance. This makes them more vulnerable to disease and infections.
Just like it is evident that if you calculate the benefits and dangers of fat, the dangers will outnumber the benefits. Similarly, the dangers of air pollution are immense. And upon careful calculation, you will realize that you need to reduce your exposure to air pollution as much as you can. Here are some tips:
- Avoid secondhand smoke.
- Don’t go outside at times of peak air pollution.
- There are many benefits of running but don’t run/exercise near heavy traffic.
- While traveling, don’t inhale the exhaust. Keep your windows up.
- Work on making your house smoke-free zone.
- To improve indoor air ventilation, keep a window in your house open.
- Avoid synthetic candles and air fresheners and candles.
- Replace them with aromatherapy diffusers and essential oils.
- Keep your home free of dust, mold, and pet dander.
Deep Breathing
Most of us take shallow breaths. Shallow breathing uses a small portion of our lungs. Deep breathing aids in keeping your lungs healthy. It keeps the lungs clear and ensures a full oxygen exchange. Deep breathing, even for a few minutes, is beneficial and aids in improved lung function.
Breathing exercises are quite beneficial to make your lung function efficient. Shallow breaths feel like coming from the chest. While deep breaths feel like coming from the belly. Therefore, while practicing, keep an eye on your belly falling and rising.
Deep breathing also helps in reducing your stress levels.
Prevent Infections
As you age, infections can become dangerous. People with lung diseases such as COPD are more vulnerable to infections. If not careful, seemingly healthy seniors can develop conditions like pneumonia easily.
To avoid lung infections, make sure you keep your hands clean. Just like you can find lists of fruits that help you lose weight, consuming certain fruits and vegetables boosts your immune system. You can look them up online. In addition, drink plenty of water to keep infections at bay.
