Whenever someone decides to go healthy, they tend to only do it for the sake of their physical appearances. They try to add bulk to their muscles or just lose some fat. They seem to forget that being healthy also means taking care of their insides, particularly their lungs. Deaths due to lung failure, not including lung cancer, contribute to 235,000 deaths every year. If you add lung cancer into those statistics, the number shoots up by another 160,000.
The truth about your lungs is, much like the other organs of your body, they become less efficient with age, and it gets harder and harder to produce the amount of oxygen your body will ever need. Add to the fact that a lot of us have lifestyles or simply live in environments that aren’t conducive to lung health. It’s never too late to reverse the damage done to your lungs though. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you’ll be ensuring that your lungs will continue to work great for many years to come.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Here Are 5 Effective Ways You Can Keep Your Lungs Healthy
1. Stop Smoking
It’s no secret that smoking is one of the leading causes for lung cancer. It’s practically written on the packet as a warning. What a lot of people don’t realize, however, is that lung cancer isn’t the only sickness, smoking can give and is linked to a host of lung diseases. These ailments include pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and COPD, just to name a few. If you already have such diseases, smoking makes them even worse.
Quitting may take more than a few attempts to let it stick, but doing so gives your body a ton of benefits. In less than a day after smoking, the amount of carbon monoxide in your blood goes back to normal, your lungs begin to improve in just a few months, and once you hit one year after quitting, your risk of heart disease has been already half that of a smoker’s.
2. Avoid Pollutants
Another major cause of lung disease is being exposed to pollutants. This can be on your way to work, at work, or even at home. Avoiding these pollutants would do your lungs a huge favor. A good place to start is at home. Keep your home as clean as you can. Make sure that there’s no mold, dust or pet dander that can cause you or your family’s lung irritation. Avoid certain chemicals or materials in your home as well, asbestos being one of the worst.
Asbestos is a type of material made of fibers that when inhaled, causes severe damage to the lungs. There’s no problem with them from newer houses since they’ve already been phased out, but they can be problematic if you’re living in older buildings. Taking asbestos removal courses can help you deal with such a threat.
3. Exercise Regularly
Just like how your body gets into better shape when you work out, your lung capacity improves dramatically when you do regular aerobic exercise. Improving your lungs through exercise also helps mitigate the same done by age and time. It’s also known that improving your lung capacity staves off lung diseases and lessens their overall effect on your body when you do catch them.
4. Improve Your Posture
Another simple way to keep your lungs working just fine is to simply adopt a good posture. Having the right posture allows your diaphragm to expand fully and allow you to breathe properly. This will lead to your lungs being able to maximize the amount of oxygen it can utilize. A simple technique you can do is by leaning back on a chair, preferably a stable one. This helps you open up your chest and take a deep enough breath.
5. Breathe Deep
Maximizing each breath will allow your lungs to create a full oxygen exchange, improving your lung function greatly in the long run. Do at least 2-5 minutes of deep breathing exercise a day, putting emphasis on your diaphragm movements each time. You can do this by inhaling through your nose for 2 seconds, holding your breath for another 2, then exhale slowly through your mouth for 5 seconds. Do this for the next 5 or so minutes.
We tend to take the hard work our lungs do for us, but once they’re in a bad shape, you’ll definitely notice it. Improving your lungs is a long-term endeavor, and it takes a whole lot of effort as well. It is also a great habit to talk to your physician every once in a while, so they can give you better advice as well as any maintenance medications if ever you need them.
If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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