Wellness-Air

Our lungs are one of the many amazing structures God built into our bodies. Breathing is not something most people think about until they are unable to do so. Our lungs are one of our biggest contacts with the outside world. If eight glasses of water every day seems like a lot, compare it to the 2,100 to 2,400 gallons of air we inhale and exhale each day every day (Lungs). We pull air in through our mouth and nose, through our windpipe, and into our lungs which are divided into many tiny sacs called alveoli. Each lung contains enough alveoli to cover about the area of a tennis court (ibid.). This might seem like a huge amount of air, but our bodies require huge amounts of air. About 90 percent of our bodies’ energy is created by oxygen (Oxygen).

After we breathe the air into our lungs, some of the oxygen in the air is absorbed by our lungs. At the same time, our bodies discard the carbon dioxide which is a byproduct of our body’s energy conversion process. The oxygen is then carried by red blood cells to where it’s needed. Our brains take up the largest amount of oxygen; about a quarter of our oxygen goes straight to our brains. The rest goes to cells in other parts of our bodies. The red blood cells then carry carbon dioxide, discarded by the cells, back to the lungs to be exhaled into the air.

Our cells use the oxygen to produce energy. Oxygen is like gasoline for our cells; without it our cells will not “run.” Cells need oxygen to perform their basic functions. Without oxygen, our hearts would not be able to pump, we would be unable to digest, our brains would be unable to process information, and we would be in a very bad case indeed.

It’s easy to see why oxygen is important to us, but the question becomes what can we do? How can we make sure our bodies have the oxygen they need to be healthy? There are many ways we can help our bodies receive the necessary oxygen. Here are some of the most important.

Fresh Air: Dr. Bernell Baldwin has written of the importance of fresh, clean, outdoor air, as opposed to re-circulated indoor air. Why fresh air? He cites the chemical difference in fresh air (the negatively charged oxygen molecule) as being the vital difference. He lists several advantages of this difference, including a better sense of well-being, an increased ability to relax, and the mildly antiseptic effect of fresh air on airborne bacteria and viruses. Even before the chemical composition of air was understood, fresh air was known to have a beneficial effect on people. Ellen White, in her book Education, speaks to the importance of “recreation in the open air.”

Exercise: Aerobic (meaning “with air”) is exercise which increases the amount of oxygen absorbed by the body. It increases the amount of oxygen our bodies can absorb, as well as having many other health advantages. Forms of exercise that can be practiced out of doors are ideal. This can be anything from brisk walking, jogging, playing tennis, swimming, cycling, or anything else that gets your heart pumping.

Deep Breathing: Deep breathing is breathing in a deliberately slow, relaxed manner. Most adults breathe very shallowly, using our chest muscles instead of our diaphragms. The diaphragm is a layer of muscle in between our lungs and our lower organs. Its contraction and expansion causes us to breathe deeply, utilizing more of our lungs. This helps oxygenate our tissues and relieve built up tension. Tension causes us to tense our muscles which restricts our breathing, as well as the flow of blood, and thereby oxygen, through our bodies. Not only do deep breathing exercises help us temporarily, learning to breath with our diaphragms on a daily basis will help our oxygen intake.

Posture: Your mother was right on this one. Standing up straight relieves pressure on your lungs and internal organs, allowing your lungs to do their work better. If you sit a lot on a daily basis, it’s important not to slouch, as this also will constrict lung function. If it’s an option, there are ergonomically designed office chairs and chair covers which help with posture.