In today’s day and age, everyone is telling you to focus on your weight, your heart health, your physical health and your mental health. All have been proven to be equally important in your overall well-being, but most people tend to forget all about their lungs! We all need to breathe right?! Here are some of the top tips for you to make every breath count this season!
1. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Among the hundreds of things to do to keep your lungs healthy, one of the simplest is to breath with your diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing can help you consciously activate your diaphragm in order to get deeper breaths. Focus on initially breathing in with your diaphragm and initiating your exhales with the same muscle.
2. Simple Deep Breathing
We know, it’s a no-brainer but simple deep breathing can help your lungs get closer to reaching full capacity. That means more air for you with every breath and more energy for you to battle the day!
3. Counting on your breath
With each inhale and exhale it can be extremely beneficial to deepen your breaths each time. It’s simple, just count each one of your inhales and exhales and with every consecutive breath try to extend the length of time of each breath.
4. Watch your posture
It’s really that simple! Since your lungs are softly structured they will only expand as much as you let them. Sit tall and reach overhead to expand your chest cavity during those long days on computer work to allow for your lungs to stretch to full capacity.
5. Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated allows for the mucosal linings of your lungs to stay thin which in turn helps your lungs function better and more efficiently. Plus it helps prevent against some of those nasty colds that can easily catch up to you this season!
6. Laugh the day Away
Laughing is a sure way to improve your health on many levels. It helps you strengthen your abdominal muscles, increases your endorphins and even improves lung capacity. Increasing amounts of daily laughter clears out your lungs by forcing the stale air out and new fresh air in. So go ahead and watch that new comedy you’ve been dying to see.
7. Be active
We know you have heard this a thousand times and we might sound like a broken record, but here it is again! Regular physical activity is an excellent exercise for your lungs as well as your health. You only need around 20 minutes of consistent moderately intense movement daily, so go ahead and go for it!
