9 Activities That Increase Your Lung Capacity

Do you have trouble breathing? I’ve had issues with asthma since childhood. While your doctor will prescribe you medicine, there are plenty of everyday activities that can help your breathing as well. These are things you need to think about before heading straight to the doctor’s office. Should you stay hydrated? How exactly does watching your posture help? Will I breathe better if I laugh more? Hang on, what’s a breathing club? We’re talking all that and more.

1. Laughing

I think we could all use a good laugh. It has so many health benefits. Not only can it shape muscles all over your body, but it can also help your breathing. Laughing is so effective, it’s considered to be its own aerobic exercise. Fifty minutes of laughter throughout the day can really benefit your health. Laughing increases the abdominal muscles, as well as your lung capacity. Laughter clears out the lungs by forcing out stale air.

This allows fresh oxygen to come in as a replacement. Laughing helps expand your alveoli. These are the tiny air sacs in your lungs. When the alveoli expand, more space is made for oxygen to enter. So if your lungs have been feeling a little heavy, try finding something funny to enjoy. Mind you, this isn’t the only thing you should do. Especially if you’re really having trouble breathing.

Which drink is good for the lungs?

2. Drinking-Water

This one seemed weird to me at first. When I drink a lot of water, I just feel bloated. Believe it or not, the more hydrated you are, the better your breathing will be. Drinking water is extremely important for your lungs. When you’re dehydrated, your mucus thickens and gets really sticky. This makes it much harder to breathe. When you drink water, it helps thin out the mucus lining of your airways and lungs.

Just as a general rule, try and drink 8 glasses of water a day. This is the most common water recommendation you can follow. It doesn’t mean you need to be carrying around your own water bottle everywhere you go. But when you feel thirsty, make sure you get your proper water intake.

What foods repair lungs?

3. Have More Blueberries

Most people eat blueberries to give a little more flavor to their meal. I mean, they are delicious. But like hot peppers, they have plenty of positive effects on your breathing. Blueberries are a nutrient goldmine. A regular diet of blueberries is associated with better lung function. This is where anthocyanins come into play. They repair your lung tissue from oxidative damage. In 2016, a study done on elderly veterans showed that those who ate blueberries had a slower decline in lung function than those who ate other foods.

Eating at least 2 servings of blueberries every week can slow down lung function by up to 38%. So if you’d like an easy snack that’s a little lighter on the tongue than hot peppers, blueberries are the way to go.

4. Eat Peppers

Yes, you heard that correctly. If you’re willing to brave the heat, peppers can do wonders for your lungs. Even regular peppers are good for your breathing. You see, hot peppers have a ton of Vitamin C. For example, just one regular-sized chili carries almost 65mg. That’s over 70% of your suggested Vitamin C intake for the day.

While Vitamin C is mainly known for reducing inflammation and preventing serious disease, not many people realize it can also help your lungs. Studies have been done on people who were under tremendous physical stress. They revealed that Vitamin C reduced their respiratory symptoms significantly.

Vitamin C is particularly important for smokers. Cigarette smokers who take high doses of Vitamin C have better lung function than smokers with low Vitamin C. If you smoke, it’s recommended you take 35 extra mg of Vitamin C per day. So if you want food that helps you breathe, and also comes with a little kick, hot peppers can give your lungs some relief.

What are the five steps to increase lung capacity?

5. Deep Breathing

Sometimes, it helps to just breathe. This advice applies to a lot of different things in life. If you're stressed, just breathe. If you’re tired, just breathe. If you’re having trouble breathing… yeah... just breathe. I mean, unless you’re actually unable to draw a breath. In that case, you need medical attention. Other than that, you’re best off trying a few deep breathing exercises.

There’s a really sciency name for one of them. Have you ever heard of diaphragmatic breathing? Also known as “belly breathing”, this engages your diaphragm. Located below your lungs, the diaphragm is the major muscle used for respiration. While it's particularly helpful to people with serious lung disease, this exercise is one you can do for minor problems as well.

Here are some quick directions for how to do it...If you have time, relax your shoulders and lie down. Put one hand on your belly, and the other on your chest. Inhale through your nose for two seconds, and feel the air move into your abdomen. Your belly should be moving more than your chest.

When you’re ready, breathe out for two seconds. Make sure you do it with pursed lips while pressing down on your abdomen. Keep doing this, until your breathing feels easier. Actually, that leads me to another activity.

6. Pursed-Lips Breathing

Do you even know what this means? To be honest, I didn’t even know the exact definition. I had to look it up. Pursing your lips basically means to pucker them up. When you breathe with pursed-lips, you’re slowing down your breathing. This reduces the work of your breathing by keeping your airways open longer. This makes it easier for them to function. It also improves the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This exercise is said to be much easier for people with breathing problems. Here’s what you do.

First, inhale through your nose. Purse up those lips. When you’re ready, breathe out as slowly as possible. It should take at least twice as long as it did to breathe in. Keep repeating until you’re breathing more comfortably.

7. Straighten Up Your Posture

It’s difficult to imagine what your posture has to do with your ability to breathe. I know people whose backs are in terrible shape, yet they breathe just fine. The lungs are extremely fragile. If you’re not giving them the proper space, you’re going to have difficulty breathing. If you stand up straight, you’re not going to be obstructing the air from circulating through your lungs.

When you’re standing, it’s good to reach overhead. If you’re at work, and you don’t have time to stand, you can lean back in your chair. Lift your chest and open the front of your body as you breathe deeply.

8. Breathing Club

Did you know there were support groups for people with breathing problems? If your lung problems are constant, it will get really stressful. It can even affect your mental health. Breathing clubs will offer you support on how to deal with these lung issues. As a way of comfort, you will talk to people with similar problems. Even experts with advice and possible techniques to use. The use for breathing clubs has increased since the pandemic.

The good thing is you don’t have to go anywhere to do it. Breathing clubs conduct work through phone calls, as well as zoom meetings. There is not one specific club to join. It really all depends on where you live. Just look up contact info in your general area.

9. “Counting” Your Breath

This one is pretty simple. Counting your breath is a great way to increase your lung capacity. You do it by increasing the length of your inhalations and exhalations. You start by counting how long it takes to draw your breath. However long it takes to inhale, it should take the exact amount of time to exhale. Once you’ve figured out how long it takes to breathe, you want to add one more count to each inhale and exhale. This extends the length of time it takes to fill and empty your lungs with air. Over time, you’re going to breathe a lot easier. Needless to say, your breathing is pretty important.