All of the cells in your body need oxygen to survive. Your lungs help bring oxygen into your body. This oxygen enters the bloodstream and goes where it is needed.
As you get older, there are some changes that impact your breathing. To understand age-related respiratory changes, you first need to know exactly how your lungs work.
How Lungs Work
According to the American Lung Association, your total lung capacity is about 6 liters worth of air! That will depend on your age and health.
Lungs are a major part of the respiratory system. That’s the group of cells and tissue that make breathing possible.
Your lungs have two main jobs to do:
- Pull oxygen into the body
- Expel carbon dioxide from the body
Your lungs don’t actually have any muscle to do the job, but they do get help from a muscle called the diaphragm. It’s what separates your chest cavity from the abdominal cavity.
The diaphragm helps your lungs expand to pull in air and then contract to push out carbon dioxide. As you breathe in, your ribs also work with the lungs by supporting and moving with the lungs. They are what protect the lungs from harm.
Age-Related Respiratory Changes
Your lungs hit maturity by age 20 or 25. Once you hit about 35, it’s normal to start having some decline in lung function due to age. There are several things that factor into that gradual decline as you add on the years.
First, your diaphragm muscle can get weaker, which is one of the things that can cause shortness of breath with age.
Your rib bones also become thinner and can change shape. Those changes can make it more difficult for your lungs to expand and contract.
In addition, there are changes to lung tissue and your alveoli. Alveoli are small sacs in your lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. With age, those sacks can become misshapen and baggy.
The lungs can become more prone to tissue damage, as well. This is caused by a decrease in sensitivity to nerves in your airway.
Usually, when particles make their way into your lungs, your airway will trigger a coughing response to clear those particles. As you age and those nerves become less sensitive, the cough response isn’t triggered. The particles then build up and can cause damage to lung tissue.
All of these things and more can cause shortness of breath as you age. They also leave you at a higher risk of respiratory infections.
Protecting Your Lungs
While a decline in lung function is normal as you get older, there are some things you can do to keep your lungs as healthy as possible.
One of the biggest things to do is not smoking. Smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems. Over time, smoking can destroy lung tissue and even cause cancer.
Secondly, you should avoid indoor and outdoor air pollutants as much as possible. When you’re indoors, things like secondhand smoke and other chemicals can impact your lungs.
As for outdoors, it’s more difficult to take precautions. At the very least, try not to do outdoor exercises during days with bad air quality.
Lastly, regular checkups and prevention are key. Make sure you’re seeing your doctor often, even when you aren’t sick. Being proactive is critical to maintaining your health. In that same vein, taking steps to prevent infection, like getting your flu shot, will put you in good shape.