Keeping healthy lungs helps maintain your breathing capacity.
As you age, your lungs become less efficient with processing air and your breathing capacity diminishes. Luckily, you can combat the aging process and improve your breathing capacity with healthy living and specific exercises. Greater lung capacity means better circulation and more efficient breathing. While you cannot make lungs bigger, according to Scientific American, you can make them more efficient. By improving your breathing capacity, you will have more stamina and will generally feel better.
Instructions
1. Quit smoking as soon as possible to prevent further damage to your lungs and breathing capacity. Smoking tobacco reduces lung capacity and can lead to cancer, emphysema and other serious health problems. Consult with a doctor to develop a nicotine cessation program that is right for you.
2. Exercise at least five days a week for 45 minutes or more, unless your condition prevents you. Running, walking and swimming encourage blood flow and deep breathing.
3. Control your breathing with deep-breath exercises. Take in air through your nose, letting your diaphragm and lower chest expand with air. Hold the breath and release it through puckered or pursed lips, slowly. You can do this while driving, sitting or even lying down. Before and after you exercise, work on these deep breaths to increase blood circulation.
4. Play a wind instrument that requires blowing on a reed or mouthpiece to produce sound. You don't have to know a lot about music or even worry about sounding good, but blowing into a trumpet or other horn is good exercise for your lungs and can lead to improved breathing capacity.
5. Consult a doctor for a general checkup and chest scan or x-ray to determine the health of your lungs. Even if you don't smoke, it is possible to have growths, infections or other problems with your lung that are causing a diminished breathing capacity.
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