WHAT LONGEVITY HAS TO DO WITH LUNG HEALTH

If you want to stay young for a long time, you should not only focus on reducing stress and getting enough exercise but also actively pay attention to your lungs for longevity. The organ significantly influences life expectancy, as numerous studies show. In short: Those who breathe correctly live longer.

Longevity is perhaps the biggest wellness trend of modern times. It’s not just about living as long as possible but staying healthy and fit for as long as possible. To achieve this, it’s important to establish a healthy and sustainable lifestyle routine. In short: Feeling young is not an art but the rewarding result of hard work. It’s clear that organs play a crucial role in this process, as they function as the engine, filter, or pump of our bodies.

For cells to grow and remain healthy, they need oxygen, which is transported through the bloodstream to muscles, the brain, and other organs. The importance of lung health for a long life is therefore obvious. Medical research has also provided intriguing insights. Various studies have shown that a long, healthy life is indeed linked to large lung volume.

Longevity and Lungs–What Science Says

It was successfully proven in the 1970s and 1980s that lung capacity is perhaps the most important parameter concerning mortality. Since then, research has focused on the FEV1 value from lung function tests. The “Buffalo Health Study” in the 1970s in the U.S. followed about 5,000 adults and was probably the most well-known study on the subject.¹ Over about three decades, participants’ lung function was measured at regular intervals. The clear result, considering age, gender, and risk factors: A low FEV1 value is in most cases associated with significantly increased mortality. Further long-term studies, published in journals such as the “New England Journal of Medicine,” “Respiratory Research,” or “Bio Med Central,” support this thesis. Therefore, those who wish to enjoy a high life expectancy should pay close attention to lung health and volume.

Keeping Lungs Healthy–Here’s How

Correct Breathing

Breathing is a reflex. Healthy people breathe in and out about 20,000 times a day.² Few people think about it. It just happens, whether you want it to or not. However, this can also be dangerous, as the way we breathe is crucial for lung health. To get the best long-term results, one should listen to the advice of doctors and experts. According to them, the only correct way to breathe is to activate the diaphragm and breathe deeply into the lower rib area.

Breathing therapist Martina Penxová shares this opinion. In an article by the Goethe-Institut, she explains why this often doesn’t happen: “People who are constantly under stress have shallow and rapid breathing; they exhale much shorter than they inhale. In other words, they are essentially hyperventilating.”³ The resulting permanent lack of oxygen can lead to diseases and damage organs in the long run. It’s also important to ensure that inhalation and exhalation go hand in hand and are about the same length. Nasal breathing is optimal, as it filters, humidifies, and warms the inhaled air–a natural protection against pathogens.

Salt Therapy and Inhalation

To do something good for your lungs or improve conditions like asthma, therapy in a salt cave is recommended. You inhale fine salt that naturally occurs in the air.⁴ The particles have anti-inflammatory effects and moisturize the mucous membranes. This can reduce swelling and mucus, making breathing easier. Those who regularly visit such a salt chamber will likely notice that the bronchial system calms down significantly and the self-cleaning of the airways is stimulated. Tip: You can also apply salt therapy, known as halotherapy, at home. All you need is a nebulizer and saline solution.

Traditional inhalations, which can be enriched with essential oils, have a similar effect to salt chambers. These are said to soothe the airways. But be careful: According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, you should avoid highly concentrated tea tree oil, as it can irritate the mucous membranes.⁵ Freshly brewed chamomile tea is more suitable.

Fitness

Exercise is healthy for the whole body–and especially for the lungs. Endurance sports such as jogging, swimming, and cycling improve oxygen intake and respiratory muscles. New research confirms this: The healthier the lungs, the higher the maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂max).⁶ This value indicates how much oxygen the body efficiently converts into energy and transports to cells and muscles during intense exertion. It is considered the most important marker for cardiorespiratory health–and thus for longevity.

A cohort study published in 2018 in JAMA Network Open examined 122,007 adult participants and found: The higher the fitness class, which in turn depends on the VO₂max value, the lower the mortality rate.⁷ According to a survey from the European Respiratory Journal, regular exercise, especially interval or altitude training, can improve the VO₂max value, strengthen respiratory muscles, stimulate the regeneration of alveoli–and increase organ performance by up to 10 percent. So, it can be said: Training your lungs also trains your lifespan.

Healthy Thanks to Healthy Lungs

During the global coronavirus pandemic, the VO₂max value and overall lung health came into sharper focus. Various studies linked these indicators to mortality rates from the respiratory disease COVID-19. The results were clear. As an analysis from the UK Biobank dataset showed, people with moderate to high fitness levels were less likely to develop severe disease courses. The mortality rate was also significantly lower than in people who were less active.⁸ Thus, a healthy lung can indeed prevent or at least mitigate respiratory diseases.

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2025-12-01T04:04:40Z