Breathing is extremely important when it comes to managing pain, reducing stress, lowering blood pressure and improving your overall function and performance. At our physiotherapy clinics, we work with patients everyday who would benefit greatly from improving their lung capacity. When it comes to reducing stress, it’s always great to take a deep breath but many of us do not understand how to increase our lung capacity. Today, we present 5 steps which would greatly improve your breathing.
Take Deep Breaths
Give yourself an hourly reminder to take a few deep breaths daily because this step is important to improving your breathing. Take just a few moments everyday to close your eyes and inhale deeply, before slowly exhaling. Over time, this action will increase your lung capacity, potentially lower your blood pressure and reduce your stress levels. With practice, your abdomen will expand which will increase your lung capacity and your breathing will improve over time.
Relax
Stress is common for everyone and it could really take a toll on the human body. There are many reasons as to why we get stressed out or anxious but you should remind yourself that it’s always good to give yourself time to relax. Practice mediation or take a few moments everyday to listen to pleasurable sounds like ocean waves or bird noises. These stress-reducing techniques will take pressure off the muscles in your body that are most tense and should greatly improve your breathing. Experts suggest that counting down from ten in stressful situations could greatly improve your overall health.
Improve Posture
Poor posture leads to poor breathing therefore it’s always good to improve your posture if want to improve your lung capacity. Poor posture is also caused by stress on the spine therefore if you have an office job which involves plenty sitting, it’s important to remember to sit up straight. Take a few moments to move your shoulders in circular motions to improve circulation within the body and remember that you should always do your best to take pressure off of the spine.
Exercise
A regular exercise routine will help reduce stress and improve your lung capacity which is great for the mind, body and soul. Elevation training (running on hills) are great for increasing your lung capacity however if you live in a flat area, a simple 30 minute daily workout will suffice. Cycling, swimming, jogging and other cardio-based exercise will help improve your breathing instantly and will undoubtedly increase your lung capacity.
Splashing Water
Scientists believe that simply splashing water on your face daily, will help implement a slower heart rate known as bradycardia, which will increase your lung capacity over time. It is common for athletes to have a resting heart rate of 40-50 beats per minute which is why they are often witnessed splashing water on their faces. It’s important to remember to breathe normally when splashing water on your face and while the water should be cool or cold, icy water is not recommended.
Note:
This Post is a Guest Post by HealthMax Physiotherapy Clinics, a group of physiotherapy clinics located in the GTA.
