4 Breathing Exercises to Increase Lung Capacity
Key takeaways:
Many factors, including advanced age, certain health conditions, and a sedentary lifestyle, can reduce lung capacity.
Breathing exercises can build lung capacity and help your lungs function more efficiently.
Strategies such as quitting smoking, protecting yourself from air pollutants, and eating a healthy diet can also help you breathe easier.
Whether you want to improve your athletic performance or feel less winded during daily activities, breathing exercises to improve lung capacity can help. These exercises target respiratory muscles, such as the diaphragm, making them stronger and more efficient. This gives you greater control over your breath and the ability to take in more oxygen.
Exercises to increase lung capacity
In your day-to-day life, you only use about half of your lung capacity. But that capacity increases when you challenge your lungs. During exercise or other strenuous activities, you increase the load on your respiratory system. And your lungs adapt by increasing their capacity to take in oxygen and circulate it throughout your body.
Targeted breathing exercises can work your lungs in a similar way. And you don’t even have to get out of your chair in many cases.
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Here are four breathing exercises to increase your lung capacity.
1. Diaphragmatic breathing
The diaphragm is your primary breathing muscle. Strengthening it helps you take deeper, more efficient breaths using your full lung capacity.
Step 1: Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor with your shoulders relaxed but your spine straight.
Step 2: Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
Step 3: Inhale slowly through your nose, focusing on making your belly rise while keeping your chest relatively still.
Step 4: Exhale slowly through pursed lips, gently pressing on your belly to help push out the air.
Step 5: Breathe in this way for 3-5 minutes.
2. Pursed-lip breathing
Pursed-lip breathing keeps your airways open longer, making it easier to inhale more oxygen.
Step 1: Inhale slowly through your nose for two counts.
Step 2: Purse your lips as if you're about to whistle.
Step 3: Exhale slowly through your pursed lips for a count of four.
Step 4: Continue this breathing pattern for several minutes.
3. Humming
Humming during exhalation increases levels of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide helps your brain rebuild its connections and widens blood vessels, allowing more oxygen to reach the parts of your body that need it.
Step 1: Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor with good posture.
Step 2: Place your hands on your belly.
Step 3: Close your mouth. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, feeling your belly expand and your fingers push slightly apart.
Step 4: With your lips still closed, hum as you exhale. Pay attention to how your hands sink as your belly falls.
Step 5: Continue taking deep belly breaths, humming with each exhale for 1-3 minutes.
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4. Active cycle of breathing technique (ACBT)
This breathing exercise is particularly helpful if you have reduced lung capacity caused by chest congestion. It is performed in three stages. The first stage relaxes your airways and prepares you for deeper breathing. The second stage loosens mucus and gets air deeper into your lungs. The third stage moves mucus up your airways for easier removal.
Stage 1: Breathing control
Step 1: Sit or lie down in a comfortable position, keeping your shoulders and arms loose and relaxed.
Step 2: Breathe normally in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Step 3: Keep your shoulders still as you breathe.
Step 4: Notice your belly gently rising and falling with each breath.
Step 5: Continue this easy breathing for 1-2 minutes.
Stage 2: Deep breathing exercises
Step 1: Slowly inhale through your nose, taking a big, deep breath so your lungs fully expand.
Step 2: Hold your breath for 3-5 seconds.
Step 3: Gently exhale through your mouth at a relaxed pace.
Step 4: Repeat for several rounds of breath.
Stage 3: Huffing
Step 1: Take a slightly deeper breath than normal through your nose. You don't need to fill your lungs all the way.
Step 2: Make an “O” shape with your mouth and exhale with a gentle "huff" sound, like you're trying to fog up a mirror.
Step 3: Use your belly muscles to help push the air out.
Step 4: If this brings mucus up, either cough to get rid of it or take a quick, sharp huff to bring it to where you can spit it out.
Step 5: Be careful not to huff too forcefully, as it could make you wheeze.
What causes low lung capacity?
Biological factors, medical conditions, and lifestyle and environmental factors can all impact lung capacity. Here is now some of these factors work:
Age: Your lung capacity peaks in your 20s and gradually declines with age. Over time, your lung tissue becomes less elastic, muscles like your diaphragm weaken, and your rib cage can change shape.
Restrictive lung diseases: Conditions like asbestosis, sarcoidosis, and pulmonary fibrosis cause the lungs to lose volume. This is caused either by the lungs becoming stiff or problems with the chest wall expanding during breathing.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Diseases that fall under the category of COPD — like emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and severe asthma — damage the airways and air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. This makes the airways narrower and lung tissue less elastic. These changes mean the lungs can't hold as much air, and it becomes more difficult to get oxygen to the body.
Chest wall conditions: Scoliosis, kyphosis, and other chest wall deformities can limit the lungs’ ability to expand fully.
Sedentary lifestyle: Lack of physical activity weakens respiratory muscles, leading to decreased lung capacity.
Smoking: Smoking severely damages lung tissue, reducing the amount of oxygen the lungs can absorb.
Obesity: Excess weight can put pressure on the lungs and diaphragm, making it harder to breathe deeply.
Pollution: Long-term exposure to air pollution can harm your lungs and decrease their performance.
Tips for maintaining healthy lungs
In many cases, reduced lung capacity is preventable with proper medical care and lifestyle changes. Here are some ways you can protect your lung health:
If you smoke, try to quit. Smoking is the most significant risk factor for lung disease. If you smoke, quitting is the absolute best thing you can do for your lungs.
Limit your exposure to outdoor air pollution. When air quality is poor, try to stay inside, especially if you have any lung conditions.
Improve your indoor air quality. Keep your home well ventilated, avoid harsh cleaning chemicals, change air filters regularly, and consider using an air purifier to reduce allergens and pollutants.
Make time for regular exercise. Exercise strengthens the lungs and can even help people with lung conditions breathe easier. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week. But be sure to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.
Eat a balanced diet. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provides your body with the nutrients it needs to support healthy lung function.
Stay up to date with vaccines. Get vaccinated against the flu, COVID-19, pneumonia, and RSV to protect your lungs from infections.
Wear protective gear if needed. If you work with chemicals, dust, or other irritants, wear a proper face mask to protect your lungs.
Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face to prevent the spread of germs that can lead to respiratory infections.
The bottom line
Advanced age, medical conditions, and negative environmental factors can reduce lung capacity. But breathing exercises — like diaphragmatic breathing, pursed-lip breathing, and humming — can strengthen your respiratory muscles and train your lungs to work more efficiently.
To protect your lungs, consider avoiding or quitting smoking, limiting exposure to air pollution, and exercising regularly. It’s also a good idea to eat a healthy diet and get vaccinated against diseases that cause respiratory illness.
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References
American Lung Association. (2018). Your aging lungs.
American Lung Association. (2022). Lung capacity and aging.
American Lung Association. (2023). Pursed lip breathing.
American Lung Association. (2023). Vaccines that protect against infectious respiratory diseases.
Cambridge University Hospitals. (2020). Airway clearance: Active cycle of breathing technique (ACBT). National Health Service.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Health effects of cigarette smoking.
Delgado, B. J., et al. (2023). Physiology, lung capacity. StatPearls.
European Respiratory Society. (2016). Your lungs and exercise. Breathe.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d). Restrictive lung disease.
Lundberg, J. O., et al. (2003). Humming, nitric oxide, and paranasal sinus obstruction. Journal of the American Medical Association.
Mafort, T. T., et al. (2016). Obesity: Systemic and pulmonary complications, biochemical abnormalities, and impairment of lung function. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine.
Penn Medicine. (2018). Breathing and exercise: Strength training for your diaphragm.
Qiabi, M., et al. (2015). Scoliosis and bronchial obstruction. Canadian Respiratory Journal.
