Fresh air for old lungs

Have you stepped outside today and taken in a gulp of fresh air? If not, please do so. Then be thankful for however much fresh air your aging lungs took in.


Fresh air is essential for your body’s health. Even for those of us whose lungs are compromised by some kind of respiratory disease. I’m told outside air usually has higher levels of oxygen and lower levels of pollution than inside air. I didn’t know that before! Did you? More oxygen is beneficial to our lung health and overall health. 

I’m also told our brains use 20% of the oxygen we breathe in to function. Increasing our fresh air intake can enrich our brains, which helps us think more clearly, focus, and concentrate better. 
Additionally, our immune systems are boosted by fresh air. This air helps eliminate toxins and can diminish harmful bacteria, parasites, and even viruses that live in our white blood cells.

Get the picture? Breathing fresh air outdoors has even more benefits than increased oxygen. The exercise can increase our energy, lower our blood pressure, improve digestion, and improve our moods. Even walking around the block can be helpful in these matters. So we walk for our bodies’ benefit. But do we ever walk for the fresh air we must breathe in? It may even not enter our minds (but it does enter our noses and mouths). 


Don’t wait to open your windows and let the fresh air drift into your house. Go out and meet the fresh air first. Breathe in, breathe out. Pamper yourself!
If you read this column outside, the fresh air may help you remember these things: fresh air helps clear your lungs, gives you more energy and mental focus, helps your heart rate and blood pressure, can improve your digestion, and can even make you happier (increases serotonin the "happy hormone"). 

Now that you’re all set to step outside and breathe the fresh air that’s all around you, let me invite you to next week’s Geezer Forum. We’ll learn about “Living Outdoors in Bonner County.” 


On Tuesday, March 12, the forum will have speakers telling us about being outdoors and having fun doing it. We meet in the Umpqua Bank’s Community Room, next to Tango Café, 2:30-4 p.m.
Our speakers will be Jon Totten (Sandpoint Sailing Association), Jason Welker (Pend Oreille Peddlers), Claude Goldberg, (Sandpoint Nordic Club), Regan Plumb (Kaniksu Land Trust/Pine Street Woods), Mel Dick (CHAFE Bike Event), and a staff member from Sandpoint Parks and Recreation. Each will invite us to become involved in their outdoor opportunities, whether as participants or even as volunteers to support other participants. 

Yes, I know that some older adults are no longer able to sail in a sailboat, or ski a cross-country trail, or ride a bike for fun or fund-raising. 
But all of us might find the gumption to get outside and watch others sail or ride bikes or walk a nature trail (like at Pine Street Woods). Or we might volunteer at CHAFE or a sailing regatta on our lake. 

Whatever we can do, we’ll be doing it outdoors. In the fresh air! 

Paul Graves, M.Div., is the lead geezer-in-training of Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.