The human respiratory system: how to regulate breathing?
Any human activity requires energy. The universal source of energy in the human body is ATP, which is formed in the mitochondria of cells during the oxidation of glucose. The oxygen needed for this process enters the body when a person breathes.
Thousands of liters of air pass through human lungs every day. On the way to the lungs, it is cleaned, warmed and moistened, but if the air is very polluted with dust, smoke or harmful microbes, then some of these harmful impurities end up in our lungs. If you own a car, you probably change the engine’s air filter regularly and see how dirty and black it gets every six months. And if you want your lungs to serve you flawlessly for a hundred years, take care of them by trying to breathe clean air. Spend more time in nature and less often in places where it is smoky or where there is a lot of dust. If you have to work in a very dusty atmosphere, in paint vapors, or among sick people, wear a respirator or gauze bandage.
The less frequent and deeper a person breathes, the more effective his breathing is. For comparison, an ordinary European breathes 16-20 times per minute, and Indian yogis breathe 4-5 times. There is a hypothesis that the less often a person breathes, the longer he lives. Frequent and shallow breathing has a number of disadvantages: it overly excites a person, is less economical than deep and rare breathing, and does not ventilate the lungs well. Unfortunately, most people breathe mainly through their ribs, while the most healthy and effective breathing is achieved using the diaphragm (the so-called abdominal breathing). Diaphragmatic breathing has a number of advantages: it better oxygenates the blood, massages the abdominal organs and the heart, eliminates constipation, removes harmful microbes from the lower lobes of the lungs, etc.
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Regulation of breathing
The respiratory center is located in the medulla oblongata. When the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood increases, special receptors are excited, and the respiratory center sends impulses to the respiratory muscles. At the same time, the chest expands and oxygen-rich air enters the lungs. After that, exhalation occurs automatically. The activity of the respiratory center depends on the body’s oxygen demand. At rest, it is small and increases with physical work or emotional arousal.
A person can hold their breath arbitrarily. Regular performance of this exercise increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood, increases the percentage of active capillaries, trains the respiratory muscles and volitional qualities of a person.
Conclusions
If you want to keep your respiratory system in good condition for decades, you need to create optimal conditions for its operation and train its capabilities. To do this, you need the following:
1. Do not smoke yourself and do not go into rooms where there is a lot of tobacco smoke.
2. Periodically ventilate the lungs, clearing them of dust with the help of physical exercises or special breathing techniques (deep or cleansing breathing).
3. Train your breathing abilities with breath-holding exercises.
Source: Shcherbatykh Yu.V. “How to stay young and live long”
Published
July, 2024
Duration of reading
About 1-2 minutes
Category
Body
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