The lung is an active organ that is sensitive to respiratory diseases and airborne infections. According To American Lung Association, nearly 65 million people suffer from COPD and about 3 million people die each year worldwide.
Luckily, most respiratory diseases are curable by increasing lung capacity. You can bring certain lifestyle changes to your food habits alongside using a special OPEP device. If you want to know How To Increase Lung Capacity, and want to do it effectively, help is here.
We’ll discuss a few effective methods that you can use for taking deep breaths from today. You’ll also learn a few effective tips that can bring positive changes to your other respiratory organs.
Why Should You Focus On Increasing Lung Capacity?
Before discussing the reason, let’s see what lung capacity is in the first place, and how does it differ from lung function?
Lung capacity means the maximum quantity of air that your lungs can retrain. On the contrary, lung function refers to how rapidly you are able to inhale and exhale air. Also, it indicates how efficiently your lungs can oxygenate and extract carbon dioxide from your blood.
Higher lung capacity ensures a healthy life that helps to take deep breaths. According To Studies, lung capacity is an extended predictor of respiratory mortality and it should be used as a tool of general health assessment. Therefore to retain a healthy life, a good lung capacity is needed.
You can get the below benefits by focusing on increasing your breathing and lung capacity. Here they are_
- Better respiratory muscles
- Improvement of Breathing
- Increase Cardio Strength
- Enhance Lung Function
- Develop Health Stamina and Endurance
- Increase oxygen to muscle and brain
How To Increase Lung Capacity
As you know, your lung function may decline with age like other organs of your body. So, your lung function can’t improve but by following some techniques and exercise you can control the lung capacity. Here we listed some effective ways, which have medical approbation and proof.
1. Use a good OPEP device
OPEP device known as Lung Expansion Device. It uses an Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure process for mucus clearing and lung extension. This kind of device helps to sustain optimal hygiene in the lungs and expand lung capacity.
The doctor suggests an AirPhysio OPEP device for the treatment of respiratory conditions such as Bronchiectasis, Cystic Fibrosis, COPD, and Asthma. This device helps the body’s natural cleaning procedure.
2. Breathing Exercise
Breathing exercise is an effective way to increase lung capacity. There’s a significant amount of breathing exercise available to keep your lungs healthy. They are Diaphragmatic breathing, Pursed-lips breathing, Numbered Breathing, and Rib Stretch.
Talk with your doctor about those exercises and help him to determine what your specific needs are. Breathing in and out your breath after holding for 10 seconds is the easiest exercise that helps those who have shortness of breath problems and it’s called Diaphragmatic breathing.
3. Boost Up Exercise Tolerance
Regular workouts or daily activity have a positive impact on improving deep breathing and lung capacity. An average person’s lung capacity may improve up to 5-10% with a frequent workout. Because when you exercise, your breathing and heart rates significantly increase and constant workouts make it tolerant.
In this way, your body gains the ability to transfer enough strength and oxygen to your hearts and lungs. Some doctors may suggest pulmonary rehabilitation, which works as a combo of education, exercise, and support to boost up heart rate and exercise tolerance.
4. Improve Your Posture
Do you know due to your sitting posture your lung capacity can decrease? Yes, Studies Have Found that because of slumped sitting this may happen. As lungs are a soft structure therefore they only take up the space that you make for them.
So, for a quick fix, always sit in a comfortable position to give enough space for the lung. Only then you will be able to get the best lung capacity. A good sitting posture also helps with back pain and other respiratory problems.
5. Improve Air Quality In Your Home
We live in a time where air pollution is common everywhere. Dust, chemical fumes, airborne pollutants, or even short-term air pollution can make your lungs. So, ensure a clean home environment thus no airborne particles you inhale during breathing.
You can choose Plants To Keep The Air Fresh and also use zippered cases for mattresses, pillows, and other sheets. When the outdoor air quality is too bad, keep your windows closed. And when pollution levels are too low, open the windows as possible to ensure good lung health.
6. Consume Vitamin D
Some medical studies have shown that higher vitamin D levels were connected with better lung function. Vitamin D also works effectively with people who have COPD disease. When doctors add vitamin D with standard rehabilitation, patients improve muscle strength.
The benefit of taking Vitamin D is it reduces inflammation, which is the key reason for COPD. Vitamin D can be found as a supplement and also In Some Foods like red meat, oily fish, and egg yolks.
7. Staying Hydrated
Drinking enough water is essential for improving lung capacity and decreasing the possibility of pulmonary disease. Because getting a decent Amount Of Water Per Day works for the rest of the body. When you take fluids during the entire day, it helps to keep mucosal linings hydrated. And in this way, they help the lungs function better.
Besides, dehydration affects your body including your respiratory system. Due to dehydration mucus may thicken and get sticky which is the cause for overall respiration illness. Therefore always carry a reusable water bottle that can be easily transported.
Tips To Keep Your Lungs Super Healthy
Precaution is always finer than any kind of medication. Therefore, it is more important to take care of your lungs before something goes wrong. In order to keep your lungs healthy, here is some advice from medical experts.
- Stop smoking because smoking is the cause of lung cancer and COPD disease.
- Eat food that has rich antioxidants.
- Minimize disclosure of outdoor air pollution that affects your health.
- Get involved with all kinds of respiratory sports activities.
- Prevent infection by washing hands, avoiding crowds, and staying clean.
- Practice different breathing techniques.
- Get regular check-ups even if you are feeling well.
Conclusion
However, there are still a lot of ways available to increase lung capacity. Like laughing is a great exercise that works with abdominal muscles. It clears out the lungs by creating enough force to stale air out which allows fresh air into the lungs. People who can’t be active in physical activities due to several lung diseases, using the OPEP device works like a miracle for them.
So, if you have further questions about How To Increase Lung Capacity, don’t hesitate to comment below. We will try to give you the best advice possible.
