Inhale.........Exhale. How often do you think about the importance of breathing?
We take over 20,000 breaths each day, and each one should be optimized for health. Each time you breath in, an exchanges of gasses takes place. The fresh air from your surrounding environment enters your body and trades places with the waste air (called carbon dioxide). Each breath works to cleanse your body from toxins. This is why environment is so important. The more we are surrounded by toxins, the more filtering and purifying our body has to do.
Each lung is equipped with about 350 million alveoli (tiny air sacs responsible for gas exchange between air and blood). Proper gas exchange ensures that the blood is filled with enough oxygen for the body to function optimally. It also rids the body of carbon dioxide and other gasses and VOCs.
It it true that "we are more dependent upon the air we breathe than the food we eat", so much attention should be given to the quality of that air! Our homes are often filled with numerous toxic chemicals, artificial scents, allergens, molds etc. These things can be responsible for causing or exacerbating seasonal allergies, autoimmune illnesses, sleep disorders, depression, etc. Natural settings are the exact opposite. The air outside has a higher oxygen content, is loaded with negative ions, and has far less pollution than indoor air.
The best thing for optimal health is to spend as much time outside as possible. Walking in the woods, relaxing at the beach, standing at the base of a waterfall...however - because of work, school, disability, etc, most of us are inside for the majority of the time. The second best thing is to create a more natural healthful atmosphere in our homes. We can easily do this by adding houseplants (peace lilies, ferns, spider plants, snake plants), small fountains, Himalayan salt lamps, and opening windows often. Running the shower also decreases the air pollution in our homes. Implementing these things in our homes and getting outside for fresh air as often as we can will improve our mood, digestion and overall quality of life.