Every one of us is on a journey to building a happy, healthy life. In fact, one of the World Health Organization’s guiding Constitutional principles is that, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Whether it’s maintaining a workout routine or daily meditation, holistic well being means we need to prioritize health.
Why respiratory health is key to every person thriving
One area of physical health that’s non-negotiable is our respiratory system. According to global data, respiratory diseases, including communicable respiratory illnesses, are highly prevalent. Specifically, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reported that chronic respiratory diseases were the world’s third-leading cause of death in 2019. This meant that around 1 in 16 people died from these diseases separate to the global impact of chronic respiratory illnesses like asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Though we’re familiar with the devastation wrought by lung cancer, so many respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, risk significant health complications. For instance, respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and asthma can create chronic poor health and even secondary health conditions. Equally, if people experience damage to their respiratory system through environmental factors or cigarette smoke, likelihood of related problems increases. Altogether these examples demonstrate the widespread impact of respiratory diseases, exposure to harmful substances, and complications of respiratory illnesses.
Five aspects of respiratory well being
Across the airways, lungs, blood vessels, muscles and bones making up the system, these parts are responsible for oxygenation, defense, and sense-based activities. Not only do we need the system all day every day but also it’s easily forgotten because of system structure. In essence, this is because there’s a range of factors that affect our respiratory systems. Furthermore it’s the only major internal system that’s partially exposed to the physical world and this makes it quite vulnerable. Below we’ll review five aspects of respiratory well being that we should all know about.
Five must-know aspects of respiratory well being
- Breathing – Being able to properly breathe through our noses and mouths — both parts of the respiratory system — helps us in day-to-day life. When we’re breathing properly we can sleep better, have complete aerobic and anaerobic function, and have sharper mental acuity. People that have trouble breathing might experience greater physical strain which puts pressure on the entire bodies. Healthy breathing can also impact our nervous systems that in turn impacts how our bodies regulate hormonal and psychologically.
- Fitness – Following on, our fitness capability relies on our respiratory wellbeing. What’s more, fitness can also help improve lung conditions such as having more physical stamina or helping reduce asthma attacks. Overall fitness has an undeniably positive impact on nurturing a healthy respiratory system.
- Less illness – A healthy system is less susceptible to respiratory infection and other upper and lower respiratory illnesses. Since the system forms a crucial line of our defense mechanisms, taking care of the respiratory system benefits the entire body. Simultaneously, secondary and tertiary illnesses can arise from respiratory sickness therefore our bodies’ well being relies on protecting this system.
- Engagement in life – Our ability — and willingness — to be active, engaged, and living life is almost fully dependent on a healthy body. When well being is poor, we might find ourselves retreating either as a precaution or becoming isolated as we manage problems. Hence caring for our respiratory systems is a balance of steps for thriving and sustaining robust immunity. On the one hand, proactive engagement can mean wearing face masks if there’s a high risk of communicable diseases. On the other hand, this looks like avoiding scenarios that detrimentally affect lung health like unhygienic environments with mould exposure. In both cases, it ensures that respiratory health as a foundational place in practicing holistic well being.
- Long-term vitality– As per the earlier data, the world’s third-leading cause of death is chronic respiratory disease. Unfortunately this can be linked to decisions from many years earlier such as exposure to carcinogens in cigarettes. All in all, for long-term vitality, our respiratory systems require ongoing steps aligned with good health. Currently the system can’t entirely repair itself once it experiences damage so ongoing healthy practices are part of future-proofing. Explicitly this means we should all maintain long-term holistic wellbeing practices for long-term vitality.
Essential steps to prioritizing your respiratory health
In conclusion, we’re all prone to taking our lung health for granted and putting ourselves at risk of lung disease. It’s easy for it to happen. That’s why Study Medicine Europe produced this practical guide for ‘How To Plan For Respiratory Health In 2024’. In addition to offering 12 daily strategies for health, it also includes more relevant statistics and insights from health experts. Let’s all take better care of our respiratory systems so we can be thriving well beyond this year!