Learning About Lung Health
By Brandi Goodman
Women's Lung Health Week arrives on May 12 and ends the 18th. Before this week gets here and while it's going, women everywhere should do what they can to learn about their lung health and how to maintain it. Functioning lungs are necessary for overall health yet many people are doing things to inhibit their lung function. Prevention can go a long way toward ensuring the lungs continue to work as intended.
Track Pollen Levels
Outdoor exercise and spending any time outdoors is usually good for your health. However, there are often high pollen days where the air quality is much too dangerous to be outside. You should be sure to track pollen levels and avoid exercising or engaging in too much activity outdoors on days in which the air quality is less than ideal. Breathing in pollen, toxins, and chemicals in the air on these days can be detrimental to lung health.
Practice Good Hygiene
Getting sick can cause damage to your respiratory system. You may find it difficult to breathe as you spend time coughing and wheezing when you have a cold. Practicing good hygiene, such as taking regular showers and always washing your hands, will help to prevent sickness and keep your lungs working well.
Get More Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise requires your lungs to work harder. As you work out, your lungs will be improving and becoming stronger and more efficient. Going for regular walks, jogging, swimming, riding your bike, and attending cardio classes are all valid ways to boost your lung function.
Stop Smoking
If you're a smoker, you are severely damaging your lungs. Cigarette smoke can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that causes regular cases of emphysema and bronchitis. It can also cause lung cancer. With the air passages narrowed when you smoke, you will often find it more difficult to breathe afterward and can develop a chronic cough. Swelling in the lungs and inflammation are also common troubles smokers face. Stop smoking to allow your lungs to heal from the damage caused and see how much easier it is to breathe and function.
Women everywhere should do what they can to improve their lung health. Women's Lung Health Week is just the motivation needed to start taking a look at the many ways in which you can improve your lung function. A healthy respiratory system is essential for overall health as well.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Anderson, S.C.