Lung Health: The Importance
What is the role of the lungs?
The most important function of the lungs is to take oxygen from the environment and transfer it to the bloodstream. From there, it circulates to the rest of the body. Taking more than 6 million breaths per year, the lungs affect every aspect of our bodies and health. Help is required from structures outside of the lungs in order to breathe properly. To breathe, we use the muscle of the diaphragm, the intercostal muscles (between the ribs), the muscles of the abdomen, and sometimes even muscles in the neck.
How can you test to see if your lungs are healthy?
The Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) test you did last week is a good way to measure lung function. The peak expiratory flow (PEF), also called peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), is a person’s maximum speed of expiration, as measured with a peak flow meter, a small, hand-held device used to monitor a person’s ability to breathe out air. It measures the airflow through the bronchi and thus the degree of obstruction in the airways. The PEFR test can help you discover when you need to adjust your medication if you are taking any for a breathing disorder. It can also help determine whether environmental factors or pollutants are affecting your breathing.
What are some tips for good lung health?
Not smoking: Smoking tobacco, both first and second hand, can lead to lung cancer and COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking leads to a narrowing of the airways; it inflames the lungs and destroys the tissues over time. Make your home a smoke-free area.
Prevent infection: Ways to prevent the spread of respiratory infections, include washing hands, avoiding crowds in flu season, and asking your health provider about influenza and pneumonia vaccinations.
Exercise: Aerobic exercise and resistance training improves lung capacity and staying fit can ward off other diseases that might impact the lungs.
Check-ups: regular health checks, even when feeling well, can detect problems in the early stages, when it is easier to treat them.
Avoiding pollutant exposure: Chemicals used in the garden or home can damage the lungs. Wear a mask if using strong chemicals. Radon is a naturally occurring chemical that has been linked to 21,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the U. S. Around 2,900 of these people have never smoked.
Control moisture: Keep indoor humidity down to an acceptable level by using exhaust fans and vents. Keep moist surfaces clean and dry wherever possible. Keeping the home ventilated with external fresh air is a good idea.
How does exercise impact the health of your lungs?
When you are physically active, your heart and lungs work harder to supply the additional oxygen your muscles demand. Just like regular exercise makes your muscles stronger, it also makes your lungs and heart stronger. As your physical fitness improves, your body becomes more efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream and transporting it to the working muscles. That’s one of the reasons that you are less likely to become short of breath during exercise over time.
Both aerobic activities and muscle-strengthening activities can benefit your lungs. Aerobic activities like walking, running or jumping rope give your heart and lungs the kind of workout they need to function efficiently. Muscle-strengthening activities like weightlifting or Pilates build core strength, improving your posture, and toning your breathing muscles. Breathing exercises in particular can strengthen your diaphragm and train your body to breathe more deeply and more effectively.
