Breathing is something most people do without thinking—but for those with respiratory conditions like COPD, asthma, or cystic fibrosis, it can be a daily challenge.

Even simple tasks like walking upstairs, tidying the house, or simply bending over to grab something off the ground can leave you feeling short of breath.

The good news is that small changes to your daily routine can make breathing easier and help improve your lung health, or at least minimize the exacerbation of your symptoms such as shortness of breath.

These changes don’t require huge effort—just a few smart adjustments to your habits and environment can make a big difference. And that makes everything we're about to recommend even more important.

In this blog, we’ll share some practical tips for optimizing your home, strengthening your lungs, and creating habits to improve your breathing.

Optimize Your Household Environment

Where are you more than anywhere else? As you may have guessed, your home is where you spend the majority of your time.

So the air quality in your home plays a huge role in how well you breathe, and yes you may think your house is clean but your indoor air quality could be telling a different story, especially if you have a cat or dog.

By making small changes, you can reduce lung irritants, allergens, and humidity issues that make breathing harder.

Control Indoor Air Quality

• Invest in an air purifier with a HEPA filter: These filters trap fine particles like dust, pollen, and pet dander, all of which can irritate your lungs. Place an air purifier in your bedroom or living area to improve the air where you spend the most time.
  
  
• Use natural cleaning products: Harsh chemicals in traditional cleaners can release fumes that irritate your airways. Look for natural, unscented options or you can always opt to make your own using baking soda and vinegar.
  
  
• Avoid scented candles and air fresheners: These products may smell good, but they release chemicals that can worsen your COPD symptoms, especially when it relates to breathing. Instead, try diffusing essential oils or using natural alternatives like dried herbs or flowers.
  
  
• Air out your house: On days when the air quality is good and the weather is nice, you should open up your windows to air out your house and get a fresh cycle of oxygen throughout your house. This can help to clear your house of airborne pollutants that can worsen your COPD symptoms. But you must do this on a good air quality day or else you'd be letting outdoor pollutants into your home.

Manage Humidity Levels

Humidity that’s too high or too low can affect your breathing, this of course can vary depending on where you live but if you're living in a state like Florida with high levels of humidity, here's some tips that can help you combat the negative impacts it has on your COPD symptoms.

• Keep humidity between 30–50%: Use a hygrometer to monitor indoor humidity levels.
  
  
• In dry weather: Use a humidifier to add moisture to the air, especially during winter. Clean the humidifier weekly to prevent mold or bacteria buildup. There's even humidifiers where you can add essential oils to moisturize and leave your home smelling fresh with a COPD friendly option.
  
  
• In humid weather: Use a dehumidifier or air conditioner to reduce excess moisture, which can encourage mold and dust mites.

Declutter and Clean Regularly

• Minimize dust collectors: Replace heavy drapes with washable curtains, and opt for hard floors instead of carpets where possible. With hard floors, often means rugs so make sure you are washing those rugs regularly. If you do have carpets in your home, you should consider vacuuming more frequently to minimize the presence of any airborne irritants.
  
  
• Wash bedding weekly: Use hot water to kill dust mites and allergens. Using hypoallergenic pillow and mattress covers can also help protect from airborne irritants.
  
  
• Vacuum with a HEPA filter: Regularly vacuum floors, furniture, and curtains to trap fine dust particles that trigger respiratory symptoms.

Focus on Breathing Techniques

Proper breathing techniques can help you get more oxygen into your lungs, reduce shortness of breath, and stay calm during flare-ups. 

These breathing techniques may seem small, but they can make a huge impact on your breathing, especially when experiencing a COPD flare up.

Pursed-Lip Breathing

This technique slows down your breathing and helps keep airways open.

• Step 1: Sit comfortably and relax your shoulders.
  
  
• Step 2: Inhale deeply through your nose for about 2 seconds.
  
  
• Step 3: Purse your lips (like you’re about to blow out a candle) and exhale slowly for about 4 seconds.
  
  
• When to Use It: During activities that make you breathless, like walking upstairs or doing light chores.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Don't overlook the power of breathing techniques to strengthen your overall lung health!

This breathing technique focuses on using your diaphragm to take deeper breaths. Here's exactly how to do it:

• Step 1: Sit or lie down in a relaxed position either on the floor or on your bed. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
  
  
• Step 2: Breathe in through your nose, letting your belly rise while keeping your chest still.
  
  
• Step 3: Exhale slowly through pursed lips, letting your belly fall.
  
  
• Practice: Start with 5–10 minutes a day and gradually increase as it becomes easier. 

Smart Movement and Posture Hacks

Your posture and activity levels directly affect how well you can breathe. Simple adjustments can make a big difference.

First we will cover some simple tips that you can start practicing to gradually start improving your posture.

Next, we'll provide some hacks you can use to start incorporating some gentle physical activity, including an option for outside as well as inside.

Focus on Improve Your Posture for Better Breathing

• Sit Upright: Whenever you are sitting down you need to make it a point that you avoid slouching. Slouching compresses your lungs and makes breathing harder. The easiest way to start improving your posture is to ensure you are using a chair with firm support. You can always get an ergonomic chair cushion so you don't have to go and replace all of your chairs.
  
  
• Stand Upright: Whenever you are standing or walking around, you should also make it a point to ensure you are standing up straight and not slouching. Your shoulders should be pulled back and chest is outward with a straight back.
  
  
• Lean Slightly Forward: Whenever you are sitting down at a table, rest your forearms on your knees or a table to open your chest. This position is especially helpful when are you experiencing a COPD flare-up.

Incorporate Gentle Physical Activity

• Walking: Start slowly! Meaning you should begin with short walks around your home or neighborhood for 5–10 minutes, then gradually increase your walking time or distance. Use a walker or cane if needed for support, and please speak with your doctor before starting any exercise routine.
  
  
• Chair Exercises: Try seated marches, leg lifts, or light arm exercises to strengthen your muscles without overexertion. 

Stay Hydrated and Eat Lung-Friendly Foods

Something that is often overlooked when it comes to lung health is hydration and nutrition. But both hydration and nutrition are crucial for keeping your lungs healthy and functioning well.

There are many things out of your control, but the type of food you nourish your body with and staying hydrated are definitely two things you have control over.

Let's find out some simple steps you can take to ensure you're eating the right foods, while staying hydrated with the goal of improving your lung health.  

Hydration Tips

• Stay hydrated: Drink water consistently throughout the day to thin mucus in your lungs, making it easier to expel. This is a very effective tip especially during those times you're experiencing increased mucus production, as this is an easy way to alleviate yourself. But even when you're not experiencing a large presence of mucus, you need to still make it a point to stay hydrated each  day.
  
  
• Limit caffeine and alcohol: This is an important tip that has more than one benefits for not only your lung health, but overall health as well. Being diagnosed with COPD, drinking alcohol provides no benefits to you. In fact in can make your overall management more difficult. Both caffeine and alcohol can dehydrate your body and make it harder to clear mucus. Plus, drinking excess caffeine can cause difficulties in your sleeping ability. While increased alcohol usage can slow down your rate of breathing, make it even more difficult.

Lung-Friendly Foods

• Anti-Inflammatory Options: These are items such as leafy greens, berries, and walnuts. By eating a regular diet containing these items can help to reduce inflammation in your lungs.
  
  
• Omega-3-rich foods: You will want to indulge in things like salmon, mackerel, or flaxseeds in your diet for their lung-supporting benefits.
  
  
• Avoid mucus-producing foods: This is a big one, but often one of the hardest for may to reduce their intake on. Limit processed dairy, sugary snacks, and fried foods that can thicken your mucus, while making your breathing more difficult.

Manage Stress to Support Your Breathing

Stress and anxiety can tighten your chest and worsen you already increasingly difficult breathing issues.

Managing your stress is as important as managing your physical symptoms when diagnosed with a progressive respiratory disease like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mindfulness and Relaxation Tips

• Meditation: Spend 5–10 minutes focusing on your breath. Apps like Calm or Insight Timer can guide you through simple practices. Apps like Calm simplify the process of meditation, even if you've never meditated before. And speaking from personal experience, the more you practice the better you get at calming your mind and the longer you can do it for. So just start, even if it's just for 5 minutes at a time.
  
  
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This is an exercise you can do while laying in bed or even when standing up. Slowly tense and release each muscle group, starting with your toes and moving up to your head.
  
  
• Gratitude journaling: This is an effective yet highly overlooked stress and anxiety management tip. Write down three things you’re thankful for each day to shift your focus from what you don't have to more positive thoughts focusing on everything you do have.

Avoid Common Respiratory Irritants

Protect your lungs by minimizing exposure to things that can make breathing harder, and that includes more than just smoking. Let's discuss common airborne respiratory irritants to avoid.

Quit Smoking (or Avoid Smoke Exposure)

• Do You Still Smoke?: Talk to your doctor about quitting aids like patches, gum, or counseling programs. If you are still a smoker, quitting should be one of your top priorities as this alone will offer a massive relief from worsening symptoms. Pursue all available options to quit until you are successful!
  
  
• Avoid Secondhand Smoke: Even if you aren't a smoker, it's important that you also stay away from smoking areas and anytime you have guests over that smoke you should ask them to please smoke outside. Just make sure no windows are open in your house when they step outside or else your house could be filled with second-hand smoke.

Check Outdoor Air Quality

• Use apps like BreezoMeter to monitor air quality and avoid outdoor activities on high-pollution or high-pollen days. If you don't feel like downloading another app, you can also check the air quality using the native Weather app on your iPhone. You can also go to airnow.gov and enter your address to get the air quality report for your specific zip code.

Minimize Indoor Allergens

• You should bathe your pets regularly to reduce dander, and keep them off furniture or bedding to minimize exposure to lung irritants.
  
  
• Use allergy-proof covers for pillows and mattresses to protect against dust mites.

Build Small Habits for Long-Term Benefits

Consistency is key to improving your lung health, and this is something you will need to work on continuously in order to properly stay on top of it.

Create a Daily Routine

• Morning: Start with 5 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing to set the tone for your day. Right when you wake up drink a glass of water to rehydrate your body after a good night's rest. 
  
  
• Throughout the Day: Sip water often throughout the day, take breaks to focus on your posture, and get some light exercise in when possible.
  
  
• Evening: Spend a few minutes stretching or meditating to relax before bed. This is also a great time to pull out your gratitude journal and make note of 2-3 things you are grateful for.

Final Thoughts

Improving your breathing doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. By making small, manageable changes—like optimizing your home, practicing better breathing techniques, and eating lung-friendly foods—you can make a big difference in your lung health and quality of life.

If you follow everything we provided in this blog post, and do so regularly, your lung health will thank you greatly!

Start with one or two changes today, and build from there do not try and do all of this at once when starting out.

Remember, every small step brings you closer to breathing easier and living better, and with a disease like COPD that's progress!