You can survive 3 months without eating, 3 days without drinking water, but you cannot do 3 minutes without air. Oxygen plays a crucial role in your wellbeing and it is only through pure air that you can obtain more oxygen. Let’s find out the importance of oxygen and how you can improve oxygenation of your body.
The Role of Oxygen
1. Invigorates, Vitalizes and Electrifies at the Cellular Level
The aerobic cell utilizes glucose and oxygen to generate 18 times more energy than the anaerobic cell. That explains why when the body is well-provided with the right doses of oxygen, you can feel its energizing effect.
On the other hand, hypoxia or lack of oxygen leads to fatigue, lethargy, nausea, headache and overall dullness of the body. Even though severe deprivation of oxygen can lead to blue dried lips or blue skin due to the blood turning blue, mild deprivation of oxygen can start with general weakness or lethargy in the body.
2. Soothes the Nerves
Whenever you feel irritated and down because of certain circumstances, all it takes is a breath of fresh air to calm you down. This is because oxygen helps to relax the nervous system and eradicate tension or anxieties.
Another symptom of the lack of oxygen is euphoria, a condition of over-excitement and an artificial state of happiness. This occurs because the nervous system is deprived of oxygen, leading to over-stimulation or a decline in cognitive function. Apart from euphoria, it can also result in mental changes like poor judgment, irritability, lack of insight, co-ordination and low self-assessment.
3.Vital Element of Life
The uptake of oxygen is prevented by carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is abundant in most metropolitan cities due to pollution, smoke from vehicles and the presence of mould. Carbon monoxide adheres to the red blood cells and prevents the uptake of oxygen, thereby causing oxygen deprivation. The same goes for smoking, as this also increases carbon monoxide in the body and declines oxygen supply.
As a result, it can cause deprivation of oxygen at the cellular level and lead to body parts failing. Majority of smokers are left with no other option but amputation of limbs, toes and feet for the same reason.
How to Improve Oxygenation?
Cancer cannot live in the body that is well-oxygenated’. Pure air has a profound effect on your body. Here are ways to increase the uptake of oxygen in your system:
1. Hydration
The body loses several cups of water every day. As you wake up every morning, it is essential to revitalize your system with a cup of water.
Hydrating yourself with a cup of coffee or tea will not do. Since tea or coffee have caffeine and sugar crystals in them, they tend to dehydrate the body more than hydrating it.
If you are not hydrated well enough, the red blood cells tend to clump up with each other and are unable to pick up enough oxygen. Good hydration means drinking enough water and staying away from stimulants that have dehydrating properties.
2. Proper and Mindful Breathing
Have you ever seen a little baby breathe? The whole abdomen moves in and out as the baby breathes. Your abdominal muscles are designed to aid in the breathing process. Most of the adults have lost the art of abdominal breathing due to improper posture while sitting or wearing tight clothes.
This is where the practice of Yoga, Pranayama and exercises like Pilates aim to strengthen the core and engage the abdominal muscles to breathe, thereby increasing the uptake of oxygen. Besides, it is also essential to breathe through your nose. The nose helps to purify, humidify and cleans the air.
3. Negative Ions have a Positive Effect on Increasing Oxygenation
Ever felt uneasy in an overcrowded or air-conditioned room? The reason is the lack of negative ions in the room. Ions are invisible charged particles in the air – either molecules or atoms, which bear an electric charge. Some particles are positively charged and some are negatively charged.
To put it simply, positive ions are molecules that have lost one or more electrons whereas negative ions are actually oxygen atoms with extra-negatively-charged electrons. These negative ions have an opposite effect on the body by improving the circulation of pure air. They are abundant in nature, especially around waterfalls, near waves at the beach, after a storm, on the ocean, and in a pine forest.
4. Exercise Well
Exercise to improve your lung capacity and enable your lungs to absorb more oxygen. It will improve your respiration ability and facilitate the intake of oxygen to reach your cells faster. Whenever you have the chance, engage in moderate to intensive workouts that maximize your lung capacity, make you go breathless for a while and thereby improve the power of your lungs.
Oxygen and pure air is a vital element of life. So, ensure to get fresh air for vitality and good health. A lack of oxygen can be an unknown cause for most of the diseases today