The American Lung Association reveals that 34 million Americans are experiencing a lung disease. This includes asthma and COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Improving your breathing will significantly impact your happiness, wellness, and everyday life. You can change the trajectory of your respiratory health. There are simple, effective ways to take control of your lung health.
Here are the most vital steps you must take today to improve lung function.
Table of Contents
1. Practice Good Posture
Lungs are soft structures. They will take up the amount of room that you create for them.
That is why sitting tall occasionally and reaching high is a good idea. This makes room for your lungs.
Another tip is to lean back while sitting in a stable chair. Don’t tip backward! Lift your chest, open the front of the body, and breathe deeply.
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2. Buy an Air Purifier
Sanitizing your air at home improves lung health. You can cleanse the air with an air purifier. This helps to eliminate dust, pollutants, smoke, and more.
Air purifiers relieve asthma symptoms too. You can improve your sleep during the night. They even lower the chances of airborne diseases.
An air purifier works by sucking in the air in your home. Then it passes through its filter. The filter traps dust and harmful bacteria before releasing them as clean air.
You can add an air purifier to multiple rooms in your home. This helps allow for healthy air circulation inside.
3. Healthy Diet
Eating healthy benefits your respiratory system. Some foods especially are extremely beneficial. These include:
- Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, and kale
- Apples, particularly “Red Delicious” apples (rich in antioxidants)
- Sardines (rich in omega-3 fats)
- Peppers (the richest vitamin C source)
When you improve lung function, you reduce the chances of respiratory disease.
4. Staying Hydrated
It is important for overall health, and this includes your lung health. Staying hydrated keeps the lung’s mucosal linings thin. You can improve lung function with a thinner lining.
Dehydration can lead to thickening, sticky mucus. This will slow down your respiratory system, making you susceptible to allergies, illness, and other respiratory issues. Further, dehydration impacts your ability to take a deep breath and will cause tremendous respiratory stress.
Stay hydrated at all times!
5. Add More Plants to Your Life
Not only does greenery beautify your home, but contributes to healthy lungs. There are a few plants that are best for your respiratory system. Consider adding these to your home.
Chinese Evergreens
This plant is ideal for any home. It emits high oxygen content. Not only that, but it purifies your home.
An aglaonema commutatum plant is popular and durable. It flourishes in low-light areas. This indoor plant absorbs carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and benzene as it cleans and purifies the air.
You will want to water it often—Chinese evergreens like their soil always moist. Do not put it in a cold room or place it in an area sensitive to drafts.
Snake Plant
Well known for nighttime oxygen production capability, many people who care about respiratory health love having a snake plant around. This plant will purify the air and give you oxygen, producing oxygen during the night.
The dracaena trifasciata plant removes indoor air pollutants, including benzene and formaldehyde. It filters out ammonia, toluene, trichloroethylene, and xylene.
Snake plants are easy to care for and effective against allergies. They can help with minor ailments.
Horehound Leaf
You likely have consumed this plant as a cough syrup or cough drop ingredient. For people who suffer from allergies, excess mucus, and congestion, a horehound leaf will make a happy addition to your home.
Not only that but a white horehound plant can be used to heal digestion problems. This includes loss of appetite, bloating, indigestion, diabetes, diarrhea, gas, and constipation. Further, the white horehound plant can be used for liver and gallbladder complaints.
6. Quit Tobacco
Avoiding tobacco is a primary way to improve lung function and avoid respiratory disease. Smoking could lead to lung cancer. The sooner you quit tobacco, the better your health will be.
Of all deaths from lung cancer, 90 percent are because of smoking. Lung cancer leads to more deaths for women than breast cancer does. Smoking also causes approximately 80 percent of all deaths from COPD.
You will reap immediate rewards from quitting tobacco. However, your risk of mouth and esophagus cancer cuts in half after five years.
7. Boost Physical Activity
Working out positively impacts your heart. That is because your heart can more efficiently pump blood to the lungs. Therefore, your lungs can absorb more oxygen.
If you wish to improve lung function, aim to exercise four to five times weekly for approximately 30 minutes. Beyond your lung health, consistent physical activity will improve your mood.
Improve Your Respiratory Health
Practicing good posture, using an air purifier, and eating a healthy diet can improve your respiratory health. You should also stay hydrated, active, quit tobacco, and add more plants to your home.
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