We all know that our lungs play a critical role in keeping us strong and healthy. However, only when we experience lung issues do we realize how hard our lungs work for us. In fact, we often forget that our lungs also need regular care and attention, just like any other organ in the body, to function properly.
Now, the question is, how can you keep your lungs healthy?
Well, all you need to improve your lung health is to take some simple yet effective steps in your daily routine. With that, you should also recognize and address the triggers affecting your lung health gradually. To help you with that, in this article, we will discuss the six most recommended ways to improve your overall health while keeping your lungs healthy.
- Prevent Infections
The one thing that can significantly impact your lung health is infection. It can be extremely dangerous, especially as you get older. Also, it can be fatal for people who suffer from chronic diseases like COPD as they are at a much higher risk of catching severe infections like pneumonia due to weak immunity.
Therefore, it is important to protect your lungs from such infections by practicing good hygiene, such as wearing a RespoKare N95 anti-viral mask for safety against deadly viruses that directly or indirectly attack the lungs. Similarly, using warm water and soap, you should keep your hands clean and avoid unnecessarily touching your face. Also, you must stay hydrated and eat lots of fruits and vegetables to strengthen your immune system by getting the much-needed nutrients in your diet.
- Visit Your Doctor Regularly
Another important step to keep your lungs healthy is to visit your healthcare provider regularly for full body checkups, tracking your overall health. Regular checkups are crucial as they help detect and prevent diseases early on, especially considering lung-related issues, which often go undetected or unnoticed unless the condition becomes severe.
For instance, many conditions, like exposure to asbestos at an early age in your workplace, may not show any immediate signs. However, the exposure can lead to serious lung damage over years and can only be found out and treated when you ensure regular checkups. Also, finding problems early increases your chances for effective treatment.
Thus, it is always a good idea to visit your doctor regularly to check for emerging or existing medical problems, assess the risk of future medical issues, update vaccinations, or prompt yourself to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- Avoid Pollutants
Another important step is to avoid exposure to pollutants that not only accelerate aging but can also damage your lungs severely. Most people fail to realize that their lungs can only fight against toxins when they are strong and young. As you age, your lungs lose natural resistance against pollutants and quickly become vulnerable to chronic diseases and infections.
One way to ensure healthy lungs is to reduce pollutant exposure as much as possible. You can do so by avoiding secondhand smoke and going outside during the peak times of air pollution. You should also try to minimize exposure to different airborne pollutants at work, like waste management, construction, or mining, by ensuring safety precautions.
Similarly, try to keep your house’s indoor air clean and free from pollutants by dusting and vacuuming furniture and providing air ventilation. Make your home a smoke-free zone and avoid air fresheners and synthetic candles while keeping the house as clean as possible.
- Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is one of the best and simplest exercises to help your lungs function at full capacity. It is all about staying focused on inhalation and exhalation. For instance, you can practice deep breathing daily by following these steps.
- Start inhaling slowly. Expand the ribs and belly consciously, allowing them to expand and open while lowering the diaphragm.
- Now, let the upper chest lift and expand naturally.
- Exhale as much as possible and let your chest fall.
- Bring in the stomach muscles and contract the ribs while lifting the diaphragm consciously and expelling the last bit of air.
Try to perform this simple deep breathing exercise every day as it will not only help you feel good and relaxed but also calm down the nerves instantly. Moreover, it will also help exercise all the naturally involved muscles in the overall breathing process.
- Stay Hydrated and Keep Laughing
Do you know that laughing is one of the natural ways to increase your lung capacity by working your tough abdominal muscles? Moreover, it also helps clear your lungs by forcing all the stale air out and allowing fresh air to enter all the areas of your lungs.
Besides laughing, you should also ensure that you drink plenty of water every day. While most people often neglect it, proper water intake significantly helps your entire body to work efficiently, let alone keep your lungs healthy. For those unfamiliar, staying well-hydrated and taking sufficient fluids or water the entire day is an excellent way to keep the muscle lining of your lungs thin, which helps your lungs function better, keeping you healthier.
- Count Your Breaths
Last but not least, another simple way to make your lungs work at full capacity is to increase the duration of your breaths. For instance, start by counting the time you take to breathe regularly. In case it takes to the count of seven to inhale, your exhale should also take the same amount of time. If not, try to maintain your inhalation and exhalation to an equal length.
Similarly, once you know your average breath count, extend the time required to fill and empty your lungs. However, avoid causing discomfort or straining yourself when practicing any exercise.
The Final Words
Since now you know many ways to keep your lungs strong and healthy, follow the above-given tips regularly. Remember, you only need to give a little extra attention and care to your lungs to help them function properly to improve your overall health. So, visit your healthcare provider regularly, prevent infections, perform breathing exercises, avoid pollutants, keep yourself hydrated, and last but not least, don’t forget to laugh. Good luck!
