breathing

Health – Lung Function

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An important predictor of health and longevity

Lung Function—an important predictor of health and longevity

What is the most accurate predictor of lifespan? It turns out that the biggest clue to longevity is your lung function.

Lung capacity is defined as the maximum amount of air the lungs can hold, while lung function involves the speed with which you can inhale and exhale. Lung function also involves how efficiently your lungs oxygenate the blood, while at the same time removing carbon dioxide.

Both lung function and lung capacity can be measured by a spirometry test. Also known as a pulmonary function test, spirometry measures the lungs’ forced vital capacity (FVC), which involves lung size and exhalation capability, and the FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) which measures how much air can be exhaled in one second.

When lung capacity and function are limited, less oxygen enters the bloodstream, cells and tissues resulting in shortness of breath, reduced endurance and decreased cardiorespiratory fitness.

Because limited lung function causes the heart to work harder, this can lead over time to heart failure and heart attacks.  Other adverse effects include impaired metabolic and digestive functions, problems with cognition and memory, increased inflammation and heightened susceptibility to respiratory infections.

Study: Poor lung capacity can double your risk of premature death

In a 29-year study published in Chest, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, researchers assessed the pulmonary function of 1,194 adults ranging in age from 20 to 89. After adjusting for factors such as age, body mass, blood pressure, education and smoking, the team found that lung capacity was strongly related to all-cause mortality in both men and women.

Men with the poorest lung capacity were a shocking 2.24 times more likely to die from any cause than those with the highest capacity, while women were 1.81 times more likely to die. Concluding that lung capacity and volume is a “strong and independent predictor of both all-cause and disease-specific mortality,” the researchers suggested that this could be used as an important tool for general health assessment.

By the way, this is not the only study linking lung capacity with lifespan. In an earlier investigation known as the Framingham study, researchers found that people with generous lung volume were healthier and lived longer than those with limited lung capacity.

Warning: Too many people experience poor lung health as early as age 30

As with so many other body functions, lung capacity declines with age. Lung tissue becomes less flexible, the diaphragm muscle becomes weaker, and the rib cage may contract, leaving less room for lungs to expand.

In fact, Dr. Adrian Draper, a respiratory consultant at Spire St. Anthony Hospital, reports that lung capacity at age 60 may be only two thirds of what it was at age 30. In addition, diseases such as COPD, asthma and pulmonary fibrosis (scarring) take a toll on lung capacity.

Conventionally speaking, lung function can’t be improved. However, the Lung Health Institute reports that lung capacity – the amount of air available to be used – can be. Increasing lung capacity can provide a wealth of health benefits, including better immune defense against disease, accelerated wound healing, sharpened focus and concentration, improved digestion and more efficient elimination of waste.

Simple lifestyle choices can improve lung capacity

If you still smoke, quitting is the single most important thing you can do to increase lung capacity. If you have tried to quit without success, don’t give up.

As excess fat can push on the chest and interfere with lung function, it can be helpful to shed pounds if you are overweight or obese. In addition, you can support healthy lung capacity by avoiding allergens, environmental toxins, secondhand smoke and dust. Bypass chemical air fresheners in favor of scenting your home with essential oils, and substitute organic cleaning products for harsh cleaners.

Breathing exercises and techniques including coordinated breathing, deep breathing and diaphragmatic breathing can also help restore lung capacity.

Vitamin D which is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune system-boosting can be a boon to pulmonary function. Studies reveal that people with COPD who accompany standard rehabilitation measures with increased vitamin D intake show improvement in their ability to exercise.

Regular physical exercise can be highly beneficial for improving lung capacity. Experts recommend interspersing low-intensity activities with high-intensity exercise for maximum benefit. However, before beginning any exercise routine, consult your integrative doctor to work out a program that is safe and effective for you.

Excerpts from www.naturalhealth365.com/lung-function-predicting-longevity-3550.html

Breathing Exercises for Lung Ailments

While there are many different types of breathing exercises, below are a few that may be useful for people with chronic lung diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Pursed Lips Breathing

The pursed lips breathing exercise can be used to address shortness of breath by reducing how hard someone must work to breathe. It promotes relaxation. In addition, pursed lips breathing helps people learn how to control their breathing and can aid in the release of air trapped within the lungs. Pursed lips breathing can be especially useful during strenuous activities.

Relax your neck and shoulders.

Breathe in slowly through your nostrils while you count to two (keeping your mouth closed).

Pucker your lips.

Breathe out slowly and steadily through your mouth while you count to four.

You don’t have to take a deep breath to do pursed lips breathing. The key is to focus on breathing in and out slowly while you count. Pursed lips breathing can be practiced four to five times daily.

Coordinated Breathing

Episodes of shortness of breath can cause anxiety and make you hold your breath. The coordinated breathing exercise helps to prevent you from holding your breath. Coordinated breathing can help during exercise or when you feel anxious.

  • Inhale through your nose. (If you’re exercising, inhale through your nose before starting an exercise).
  • Purse your lips.
  • Exhale through pursed lips during the most challenging part of the exercise.
  • Repeat as needed.

Deep Breathing

When air becomes trapped in the lungs, you may feel increased shortness of breath. While it may seem strange, deep breathing exercises can help prevent air from getting trapped in your lungs. Deep breathing helps you breathe in more fresh air.

  • With your elbows back slightly, sit or stand in a comfortable position.
  • Slowly take a deep breath in.
  • Hold your breath as you count to ten.
  • Exhale slowly until you feel that you have released as much air as possible.

Deep breathing can be performed along with other breathing exercises and up to three to four times a day.

Belly Breathing or Diaphragmatic Breathing

Of the muscles used for normal breathing, the diaphragm is one of the most important. Belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing helps retrain the diaphragm to work better, so you can breathe more efficiently. Lie on your back with your knees bent or resting on a pillow.

  • Place one hand on your upper chest and the other hand on your belly.
  • Inhale slowly through your nose.
  • As you inhale, focus on feeling the hand on your belly rise and the hand on your chest remaining as still as possible.
  • Exhale slowly through your mouth like you would in pursed lips breathing.
  • As you exhale, focus on feeling the hand on your belly go down first.
  • Repeat as you are able.

Ask your doctor or respiratory therapist to show you how to best perform this exercise and how often you should practice it.

Prevention is the best medicine, and working to keep your lungs healthy is much more efficient than trying to repair them after something goes wrong.

Excerpts from https://lunginstitute.com/blog/best-breathing-exercises-for-copd/

Health – Are You Breathing?

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One can live for many days without food and for several days without any liquid, but within a few minutes without air and you run out of life.

We do not stop to think very often about the first thing Adam did when the Lord breathed into his nostrils. Of course, he breathed! What a most wonderful thing. The first thing we do when we come bouncing into this world is to catch that first breath of air. God gives us the breath of life. Unfortunately, the majority of us take the gift of breathing for granted and forget that we belong to God and that our breath belongs to Him, the One who created us.

Sometimes we bind ourselves up so tight in our clothes that we cannot inhale. “When the waist is compressed, the circulation of the blood is impeded, and the internal organs, cramped and crowded out of place, cannot perform their work properly. It is impossible, under such circumstances, to take a full inspiration. Thus the pernicious habit of breathing only with the upper part of the lungs is formed, and feebleness and disease are often the result.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 88.

Some years ago suspenders came in “style” for a little while. I rushed down to get a couple of them to use with my skirts. I thought they really looked cool. One of the best things about them was that I could breathe easily and they were also fashionable. But then, as suddenly as they came in, they went right back out. Fashion took preeminence and most of us wanted to look smart instead of being able to breathe more comfortably. So we all went back to belts and our breathing again began to be suffocated. A few years ago Ellen White wrote the following:

“But the teacher should impress upon his pupils the importance of deep breathing. Show how the healthy action of the respiratory organs, assisting the circulation of the blood, invigorates the whole system, excites the appetite, promotes digestion, and induces sound, sweet sleep, thus not only refreshing the body, but soothing and tranquilizing the mind. And while the importance of deep breathing is shown, the practice should be insisted upon. Let exercises be given which will promote this, and see that the habit becomes established. ” Child Guidance 365.

Let’s perform a little experiment. Fasten a candle to the end of a wire and light it and then lower it to the bottom of a wide mouth quart jar. Place the cover on the top of the jar and wait to see the result. Soon the candle will burn dimly and in a short time the light will completely go out. This is similar to what happens to our breathing when our lungs are suffocated by tight clothing. Our bodies need lots of fresh air to function properly just the same as the candle needs fresh air to burn.

If you put a little animal into a jar and cover it, its life would go out just as the light of the candle. A child shut up in a close place would die from the same cause in a very little time. In fact, many children are dying every day for want of a sufficient supply of pure air.

Air contains oxygen, and it is the oxygen in the air which is necessary for the candle or wood to burn and produce heat. So it is the oxygen that burns in our bodies and keeps us warm. When wood is burned, heat is produced; but some parts of the fuel are not made into heat. While the fire burns, smoke escapes through the pipe or chimney and a part of the fuel remains in the stove in the form of ashes. Smoke and ashes are the waste parts of the fuel.

The burning which takes place in our bodies produces something similar to the smoke and ashes produced by the fire in a stove. The smoke is called carbonic acid gas, an invisible vapor, and escapes through the lungs. The ashes are various waste and poisonous matters which are formed in all parts of the body. These waste matters are carried out of the body though the skin, the kidneys, the liver, and other organs.

We cannot see the gas escape from our lungs, but we must breathe to get rid of the carbonic acid gas, which is brought to the lungs by the blood to be exchanged for oxygen. Breathing has two functions: to obtain oxygen, and to get rid of carbonic acid gas.

If you were to watch a frog breathe you will notice that the frog has a very curious way of breathing. He comes to the top of the water, puts his nose out a little, and then drinks the air. You can watch his throat and see him swallowing the air, one mouthful at a time just as you would drink water.

We do not drink air as the frog does, but like the frog, we have an air bag in our bodies. Our air bag has to be emptied and filled so often that we cannot live under water as long as a frog does. We call this air bag, lungs. We need so much air and have to change the air in our lungs so often that we would not have time to swallow it as a frog does.

So how do we use these lungs? When we are about to take a long breath, the muscles pull upon the sides of the chest in such a way as to draw them apart. At the same time the diaphragm draws itself downward. By these means, the cavity of the chest is made larger and air rushes in through the nose or mouth to fill the space. When the muscles stop pulling, the walls of the chest fall back again to their usual position, and the diaphragm rises. The cavity of the chest then becomes smaller and the air is forced out through the nose or mouth. This process is repeated every time we breathe.

We breathe once for every four heart beats and this is about eighteen to twenty times each minute. Every time we breathe we take into our lungs about two-thirds pint of air and breathe out the same. Our lungs can hold much more. After he has taken a full breath, a man can breathe out a gallon of air, or more than ten times the usual amount. After he has breathed out all he can there is still almost half a gallon of air in his lungs which he cannot breathe out. Our lungs hold almost one and a half gallons of air.

Why has God given us so much room in our lungs? Try running up and down the stairs three or four times and you will see why we need extra lung room. It is because when we exercise vigorously the heart works very much faster and beats harder, causing us to breathe much faster and fuller to enable the lungs to purify the blood as fast as the heart pumps it into them.

Besides carbonic acid gas, the air which we breathe out also contains other invisible poisons. These poisons make the air of a crowded or unventilated room smell very unpleasant to one who just comes in from the fresh air. This air is unfit to breathe.

“The effects produced by living in close, ill-ventilated rooms are these: The system becomes weak and unhealthy, the circulation is depressed, the blood moves sluggishly through the system because it is not purified and vitalized by the pure, invigorating air of heaven. The mind becomes depressed and gloomy, while the whole system is enervated; and fevers and other acute diseases are liable to be generated. … The system is peculiarly sensitive to the influence of cold. A slight exposure produces serious diseases.” Healthful Living, 61.

Did you know that the carbonic acid gas which is so poisonous to us is one of the most necessary foods for plants? Plants take in carbonic acid gas through their leaves, and send the oxygen back into the air ready for us to use again.

All of this shows how fearfully and wonderfully we are made. So we need to breathe deeply and breathe fresh air for air is also God’s medicine for us, just as much as food is. The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible.

Loosen up and breathe! Open your windows and breathe! Stand up straight and breathe. Sit up straight and breathe. Walk and breathe. Breathe deep and let your body live. Superficial breathing does not give life. Stomach, liver, lungs, and brain are suffering for want of deep, full inspirations of air.

“The whole body is designed for action; and unless the physical powers are kept in health by active exercise, the mental powers cannot long be used to their highest capacity. The physical inaction which seems almost inevitable in the schoolroom—together with other unhealthful conditions—makes it a trying place for children, especially for those of feeble constitution. Often the ventilation is insufficient. Ill-formed seats encourage unnatural positions, thus cramping the action of the lungs and the heart. Here little children have to spend from three to five hours a day, breathing air that is laden with impurity and perhaps infected with the germs of disease. No wonder that in the schoolroom the foundation of lifelong illness is so often laid. The brain, the most delicate of all the physical organs, and that from which the nervous energy of the whole system is derived, suffers the greatest injury. By being forced into premature or excessive activity, and this under unhealthful conditions, it is enfeebled, and often the evil results are permanent.” Education, 207, 208.

Lifestyle – Air and Respiration

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If all hindrances to good circulation have been minimized and/or prevented, then good oxygenation of the blood and tissues is dependent upon a healthy respiratory system.

Let’s look at the anatomy of respiration. With a normal inspiration, about one pint (500 cc) of air is moved into and out of the lungs with each breath taken. Approximately 16 breaths are taken per minute, totaling 23,040 times each day, moving about 3,000 gallons (12,000 liters) of air per day through the lungs. This air, with the carbon dioxide waste products produced by the body, is processed within the 300 million tiny air sacs in the lungs. In these air sacs, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide and is then circulated to every cell in the body.

There is much that can be done to maximize or hinder breathing efforts. Having an erect posture while sitting or standing allows the diaphragm to fully contract and relax. The diaphragm is the large muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. If the posture is slumped, full expansion of the diaphragm is hindered by the stomach and increases the work of the lungs, resulting in less oxygen to the body or a faster breathing rate. With full expansion of the diaphragm, abdominal movement will be noticed with breathing. This can be promoted by doing deep breathing exercises, with the abdomen moving up and down slightly with each breath. After daily practice, this correct breathing will become natural, benefiting the body with health-giving oxygen.

The type of clothing worn can affect breathing. Clothes that are tight around the chest and the waist can hinder full respirations. It is important for clothes to be loose enough to allow full, unhindered movement of both the chest and abdomen. Tight fitting undergarments and tight constricting waist bands or belts should be eliminated from our wardrobe.

Exercise is a friend to good lung function, speeding up not only the respiratory rate but greatly increasing the amount of air moved with each respiration which helps open every tiny air sac and remove any waste products in them. This directly helps prevent lung infections and also gives a boost to the immune system, producing a double benefit, so some form of exercise on a daily basis is excellent for improved lung function. If the exercise can be obtained outside in fresh air and sunshine it is even more beneficial. Having fresh air circulating in the home and bedroom daily is also beneficial for the lungs and improves sleep.

Adequate hydration is beneficial to good lung function. Approximately one quart (liter) of water is lost per day from the lungs. Water helps with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It makes the lungs more mobile, and helps the lining of the lungs to have adequate fluid, helping trap and remove harmful particles in the air.

A healthful, temperate lifestyle that avoids smoking is of great benefit. Air pollution can be very detrimental to the lungs, preventing pure oxygen from being brought into the body. Irritated eyes, irritability, headache, decreased job efficiency and lung problems can be signs and symptoms of poor quality of air and can also be a contributing factor to heart disease.

With this in mind, it would be wise to avoid polluted or poor quality air as much as possible in order to have healthy lungs, efficient respiration, and pure oxygen circulating to all cells in the body.

Always remember that our lungs and voice should be used to raise praise to our Lord who created this wonderful body. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 150:6.