Over 3 million people worldwide die each year from lung related issues like COPD and cancer, and 235 million people suffer from asthma, a disease that blocks the airways and makes it difficult to breathe. With such a large number of the population suffering to breathe, it’s time to invest in your lungs and keeping the airways clear and open. Here are our top 10 ways to keep your lungs healthy, and keep your breathing a top priority.
- Take a deep breath: Deep breathing is something you should be doing all day every day, but something we forget to do during the day. Deep breathing will open up your lungs to their full capacity, making it easier to breathe. While inhaling, allow your chest to lift up while lowing your diaphragm, filling up with air. When you exhale, make sure you are relaxing your stomach muscles and lifting the diaphragm to let out every bit of air.
- Drink water: Staying hydrated is crucial to lung health, especially if you suffer from COPD or asthma. In fact, you may want to check out detox water, a water that is infused with different variations of fruits and veggies that work in multiple ways besides fueling your lungs, like help with digestion or promote weight loss (things that can help your lung health significantly).
- Stay away from tobacco: It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that cigarettes, or any type of tobacco product, isn’t the best for your lung health. If you have consumed tobacco products in the past, hope is not lost. Fruits like oranges and kiwis have been proven to prevent lung cancer, and are rich in vitamins that will restore healthy blood levels.
- Incorporate lots of vitamins in your diet: Eating healthy is going to improve functionality in all of your organs, including your lungs. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, eating foods with lots of vitamins A and C will keep your respiratory health at it’s best. Also make sure to include the minerals zinc, potassium, and magnesium into your diet for ultimate lung health.
- Keep germs away: Not trying to sound like your mom, but wash your hands every time you use the restroom, touch anything in public; basically whenever you can. Germs, viruses, and bacteria cause epidemics like the flu and pneumonia to get into your lungs and not only cause breathing difficulties, but more severe issues that will lead to hospital stays and damage your respiratory system.
- Decorate your home with greenery: Not only will your house look prettier
, your lungs will also benefit! Green plants like a peace lily or Chinese evergreens will increase the air quality in your home because plants have a natural ability to get rid of toxins from the air. Better air means healthier lungs. Here is our list of 10 best indoor plants too.
- Keep up on your cardio: Telling someone to go on a run that has breathing difficulties may sound like a crazy idea, but it’s not as wild as you may think. Engaging in cardio like a light run on the treadmill will increase your heart rate, which will give more power to your lungs and make them even stronger.
- Invest in an air purifier: Set an air purifier in your room and turn it on while you sleep to help remove odors and particles from the air, which can trigger your asthma symptoms. Air purifiers with True HEPA filtration are proven to remove 99.9% of particles down to just 0.3 microns. You can also purchase HEPA-type filters that give comparable results for a lower cost towards keeping your lungs healthy.
- Sit up straight: Your lungs will only expand to as much room as you give them. If you’re constantly sitting down with a hunched back, you’re not giving them much space to inhale and exhale. Make sure you’re always sitting up and standing up straight, and practice leaning back and pushing out your chest a couple times a day to give extra room for your lungs. In addition to better breathing, good posture is good for many areas of your health, all listed here.
- Laugh: Watching your favorite sitcom can actually benefit your lungs, believe it or not! Laughing gets your abdomen and diaphragm running while laughing from the depths of your belly help push out stale air from your lungs.
