How Exercising Helps Improve Your Respiratory Health?

Are you a fitness freak who exercises daily? You already know regular exercise can help you get in shape, lose weight, strengthen your heart, and even make you feel better. Other than fitness, exercising can help you in keeping your respiratory health in check by boosting your lung function and breathing capability.

Your heart and lungs must work harder during exercise to provide your muscles with the additional air they require. Just as regular exercise strengthens your muscles; it also strengthens your heart and lungs. Your body becomes more adept at carrying oxygen into the bloodstream and delivering it to the working muscles as the intensity of your exercise increases. Over time, this reduces the likelihood of experiencing dyspnea during exercise.

The exchange of gases between the bloodstream and the air is carried out by the lungs. The lungs expand during inhalation, allowing new oxygen to enter the body. The circulation then carries this oxygen to the cells. At the same time, carbon dioxide, a waste product of cells, is expelled from the lungs.

The maximum amount of air that the lungs can store is known as lung capacity, and the effectiveness with which the lungs remove carbon dioxide from the body and supply oxygen to it is known as lung function. Lung function is influenced by a number of factors, such as lifestyle choices, age, general health, and heredity.

Common Lung Breathing Exercises That Actually Works

1. Belly Breathing

Abdominal or belly breathing is also known as diaphragmatic breathing. It assists in retraining the diaphragm to perform better so that breathing doesn’t require the whole effort of the back, shoulder, and neck muscles.

In order to do belly breathing, you:

· Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach when you are sitting or lying down.

· Breathe in through your nose for two seconds, then feel your stomach move out.

· Breathe out slowly through your mouth while applying a little pressure to your tummy.

· Keep doing this for five to ten minutes.

2. Pursed Lip Breathing

This breathing exercise has been demonstrated to facilitate breathing and reduce dyspnea. Additionally, it aids in the removal of trapped air in the lungs. To learn how to breathe while keeping your mouth shut:

· Shut your mouth, take a deep breath, and then exhale after counting two.

· Press your lips together as though you were going to blow a whistle.

· Breathe slowly while you purse your lips and count to four.

· Do this four or five times a day.

Benefits of Breathing Exercises for Lung Health

In addition to having many positive effects on general health, breathing exercises are important for enhancing lung function. Here are several ways that exercise improves your breathing:

1. Builds Up The Respiratory Muscles

Your respiratory muscles, including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, are used more forcefully when you exercise. Breathing becomes easier as these muscles get stronger and more effective with time.

2. Expands the Capacity of the Lungs

Lung capacity can be increased by exercise, especially cardiovascular exercises like cycling, swimming, and running. Your body needs more oxygen when you exercise, which makes your lungs work harder and enlarge more. This expansion improves respiratory capacity by increasing the amount of air your lungs can hold.

3. Increases Oxygen Transport

Frequent exercise strengthens the heart, which in turn increases the effectiveness of oxygen transport to the organs and tissues. Your overall lung function improves when your heart and lungs are stronger and more effective at transporting oxygen.

4. Improves Lungs Efficiency

Effective gas exchange in the lungs is facilitated by exercise. Your breathing rate rises with physical exertion, facilitating a higher exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen. The lungs are more effective at eliminating waste gases and producing new oxygen as a result of this improved ventilation.

5. Reduces Breathlessness

Breathlessness is a common symptom of lung diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). By enhancing lung function and decreasing dyspnea during physical effort, regular exercise, under the supervision of a lung specialist, can help in managing these disorders.

Conclusion

Breathing might become more difficult with age, obesity, certain medical conditions, and inactivity. However, there are numerous exercises you can do to maintain the health of your lungs.

Maintaining a nutritious diet, quitting smoking, and engaging in regular exercise can all help your lungs function at their best. In case, you are suffering from a lung disease or shortness of breath, don’t ignore

your condition and get yourself evaluated by an online pulmonary physician at MDChronic. Enroll in our respiratory care programs today and improve your lung health.