Better Breathing Matters! Breathing may be involuntary, but there are ways to improve it.
Breathe through your nose. Tiny hair and mucus inside the nose help catch and filter out dust that can irritate the lungs. Nasal passages also warm and moisten the air before it gets to the lungs.
1. Breathing Exercises. Just a few minutes of deep, steady inhaling and exhaling trains the vagus nerve which manages functions like your heart rate. These techniques can assist in relaxation and reduced anxiety.
2. Use your thumb to close one nostril while you breathe through the other, then switch. Close the other nostril with our index finger and breathe again. The goal is to reduce your heart rate and blood pressure.
3. There are many ‘pacer’ apps to train your brain to calm down when taking deep breaths.
a. Breathe Easy (Free App)
b. Breath Pacer (Free App)
c. Breath Ball (Free App)
4. Meditation involves deep, focused breathing to help sweep out stressful or distracting thoughts. Just close eyes and practice focusing on inhaling slowly so that the air expands the belly. This encourages equal exchange of incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide. This slows heart rate and lower or stabilizes blood pressure.
5. Belting out a song is healthy for the lungs, even if chronic respiratory illness like COPD and asthma are present, while reducing anxiety.
6. Improve indoor air quality. An air purifier can clean particles from the surroundings in a home. Be sure to get a HEPA air filter, especially if prone to asthma.
7. Lose weight. Excess belly fat can reduce the amount of air the lungs can hold during breathing.
8. Get moving. Start slowly and pace oneself. Start with shorter durations such as 5 to 10 minutes, and build to 30 minutes 5 times a week. Regular physical activity like walking or riding a bike can expand lung capacity with the goal of taking deeper, fuller breaths.
9. Gentle flexibility exercises like yoga or tai chi can improve lung capacity and health. These methods also improve lung capacity and health.
10. Laugh out loud. Belly laughs build up lung capacity and works stomach muscles. A great way to change mental disposition also!
11. Drink Water. Lungs are 83% water. If dehydrated, lungs do not function well, COPD and other lung issues become exacerbated.
12. Masks can help control outside contaminants and allergy causing particles from entering lungs. Masks can also be a source of anxiety. Breathing through the mouth is a common occurrence while wearing a mask, to try to increase oxygen intake. Avoid mouth breathing and try to take slow deep breaths to reduce anxiety.
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