It's the total amount of air that your lungs can hold. Over time, our lung capacity and lung function typically decrease slowly as we age after our mid-20s. Also, some medical conditions contribute to the reduction of our lung functioning. These lead to difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath.

Our lung capacity

Crisis Support

Health

This is also known as belly breathing:
<ul>
<li>Relax your shoulders and sit back or lie down.</li>
<li>Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.</li>
<li>Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen and feeling your stomach move out. Your stomach should move more than your chest does.</li>
<li>Breathe out for 2 seconds through pursed lips while pressing on your abdomen.</li>
<li>Repeat.</li>
</ul>

Diaphragmatic breathing

It slows down your breathing, making it easier for the lungs to function and improves the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide:
<ul>
<li>Inhale slowly through your nostrils.</li>
<li>Purse your lips, as if pouting or about to blow on something.</li>
<li>Breathe out as slowly as possible through pursed lips. This should take at least twice as long as it did to breathe in.</li>
<li>Repeat.</li>
</ul>

Pursed-lips breathing

Prevention is the best medicine:
<ul>
<li>Stop smoking, and avoid secondhand smoke.</li>
<li>Eat foods rich in antioxidants.</li>
<li>Get vaccinations like the flu vaccine and the pneumonia vaccine.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Exercise frequently.</li>
<li>Improve indoor air quality. Use tools like indoor air filters and reduce pollutants like artificial fragrances, mold, and dust.</li>
</ul>

Keeping your lungs healthy

Your lung capacity is the total amount of air that your lungs can hold. Over time, our lung capacity and lung function typically decrease slowly as we age after our mid-20s. Some conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can significantly speed up these reductions in lung capacity and functioning.