Today I want to mention the wellbeing of our airways. It seems obvious to me that we should all attempt to look after those delicate airways that enable us to breathe and are so vital for supporting life. Good breathing is also really calming to reduce some of our anxieties. Here are some things you might not know and do look up the references below to learn more:
- Breathing in through your nose (when awake or asleep) is healthier. WHY? Because the air you breathe is filtered, humidified, warmed and accelerated before it reaches your lungs.
- In addition, Nitric Oxide (NO) is released, that according to the 1998 Nobel Prize winners, mediates a whole variety of bodily actions, including widening blood vessels, helping to regulate blood pressure and battling infections. NO, for example, is known to kill dust mites and helps reduce inflammation, that naturally benefits our airways. I look forward to seeing research on the effects of NO on the Covid-19 virus.
- Gently breathing out through your nose enables your body to retain more Carbon Dioxide (CO2), necessary for oxygenating every cell in your body. Getting light-headed when we blow up balloons is a perfect example of what happens when breathing out too much CO2.
- Many people for a whole variety of reasons can be mouth breathers. A medical condition in your nose, such as adenoids, or even a heavy cold, may be the initial cause but even after recovery mouth breathing may stay habitual.
- Mouth breathers typically breath into the top of their chest, which in turn creates anxiety and doesn’t let air right down into your belly to achieve prefered diaphragmatic breathing. Recovery from painful abdominal surgery may also limit diaphragmatic breathing and set off the habit of only breathing into the top of your lungs.
- Avoid smoky atmospheres and smoking. Are you a smoker who naturally mouth breaths? This is so obvious, I guess that is why almost no-one is mentioning the negative effects of smoking on your airways, in the current crisis.
To learn more do google Patrick Mckeown, Dr. Michael Gelb, and Dr Howard Hindin for example.
I hope you enjoyed my post yesterday about looking after your immune system whilst upgrading to IMMUN-7. This is the 2nd in a series about what we can all do individually and as a community to take responsibility for our own health, in these times of uncertainty. This will be followed by topics such as reducing anxiety and how complementary therapies can assist you.
The author is Olive Hickmott, please register here to follow each blog at www.olivehickmott.co.uk
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