Articles
A is for Air
A is for Air If we don’t have a large amount of year ‘round sun in Yamhill County, one thing we do have is lots of fresh air – a by-product of liquid sunshine. Fresh air is to the cell like water is to your kidneys and other organs. Your lungs take oxygen from the fresh air and pass it on to your cells. The cell then uses the oxygen in aerobic respiration, and that produces fuel for each cell, keeping it alive and giving you energy to live. No oxygen, no life—and that happens really, really fast. Pure, fresh air, is a benefit to your whole body.
Look around in your daily setting and see if you can improve your flow of fresh air. If you can, go outside and take a few deeps breaths during each break at work. Open windows during the day while at home, even if only for a few minutes in winter. Crack a window at night if you can. (There are some environments where you might need to avoid this practice.)
If you are allergic to pollen, the highest counts are often from about 3:00 to 7:00 AM. Avoid open windows during this time. You can purchase HEPA window filters that allow fresh air circulation while filtering pollen.
Air or droplet transmission spreads many illnesses, and susceptibility is related to the amount of exposure. You could be in a room with an ill person without contracting it if the window is open. If it is closed, you may contract the illness.
For me, these efforts initially required conscious thought, but the more we improve the air that lurks around us, the more we will avoid illness and improve our health.
Sleep apnea is being recognized now more than ever in the medical field, especially as obesity increases amongst our population. This potentially deadly condition restricts the flow of oxygen during News & Notes from the McMinnville Seventh-day Adventist Church sleep and presents with loud snoring, restless sleep, pauses in breathing, excessive sleepiness during the day, and other resulting medical conditions. It is even found to be more prevalent in children than once thought, causing poor school performance and behavioral issues. If you or a family member are aware of any such symptoms, discuss them with your doctor at your first opportunity. A thorough sleep study may be costly, but some are candidates for the lesser expensive overnight oximetry screening, either of which is worth the price in exchange for a life. No oxygen, no life—and that happens really, really fast.
When combining fresh air with exercise, it will motivate us to get active in the great outdoors just for the sake of the exhilarating environmental stimulation. Eventually, fresh air and exercise will become an automatic and desired pastime.
Next month: "R" is for rest. In the mean time, keep up the good nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine with Vitamin D, and temperance. And since "no oxygen, no life" happens really, really fast, keep up that breathing!