Top 5 Ways to Boost your Oxygen Level at Home

One of the most noticeable concerns among coronavirus patients is the rapidly falling oxygen saturation levels, which led to many fatalities during the second wave. People have since realised the importance of healthy oxygen saturation levels in their bodies at all times, and not just during the COVID-19 infection.

A healthy lifestyle including a daily workout plan can give a long-term boost to your oxygen levels and general well-being. Having said that, you may still fall ill even if you follow a healthy eating and exercise routine. In such cases, your health insurance policy will ensure all your hospitalisation expenses are covered. As far as maintaining your oxygen saturation levels is concerned, you must follow few tips mentioned below –

Different Ways to Boost Oxygen Levels at Home

1. Practice the Prone Position

The prone position is one of the easiest ways to maintain healthy oxygen saturation levels in the body. The Ministry of Health as well as medical practitioners advise us to lie down on our stomach while keeping our chest raised, with the support of pillows. Placing another pair of pillows under your shin and one below the neck helps you keep your belly at the bottom of the arch. The prone position must be incorporated into your daily exercise routine.

Anyone who notices a fall in their oxygen level can maintain the prone position for a couple of hours and more, and benefit from the marked improvement it brings. Doctors also recommend lying on the sides or sitting at a 90-degree angle in the 'fowler' position and carry out fast breathing to improve the oxygen saturation level in the body.

2. Correct Breathing Practices

Slow and deep breathing through the nose is the correct way of breathing. You should breathe using the diaphragm, not the chest. This will ensure better inhalation and increase oxygen supply to the blood. Doctors have observed that breathing through the chest and in short spells reduces oxygen levels in the body.

Adopting the correct breathing pattern can significantly increase blood oxygen saturation levels, which can be as effective as a daily workout.

3. Include Aerobic Exercises in your Routine

Maintaining an active lifestyle is the best health insurance you can gift to your body. A freehand workout improves your breathing, thus increasing oxygen saturation levels in the body. Some freehand exercises also increase your body's metabolism.

Although aerobic exercises boost immunity, strength, and stamina in the body, daily exercise is not recommended if you are COVID-19 positive or unwell.

4. Maintain a Healthy Diet

Eating the right food is equally important. Just as you spend on insurance premiums for health coverage, spending on healthy food ensures better health protection. Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants—like kidney beans, artichoke, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries—increase the oxygen levels in the body. Similarly, iron-rich food items, such as fish, poultry, legumes, and green vegetables, boost red blood cell levels in the blood.

An increased haemoglobin level improves blood quality and reduces the risk of a drop in oxygen saturation level.

5. Drink Lots of Fluids

Another effective way to increase the oxygen saturation level in the blood is to keep yourself hydrated. Well-hydrated lungs can oxygenate and expel carbon dioxide more efficiently.

Drinking 2-3 litres of water daily can improve your oxygen level by up to 5%. An adequately hydrated body can maintain body temperature better and boost immunity.

Conclusion

With certain unprecedented challenges like the coronavirus pandemic, it has become more important than ever to follow a healthy lifestyle and include the aforementioned tips in your daily schedule.

In addition to that, you must also consider the importance of health insurance in your life and sign up for an appropriate health insurance policy to secure your future. Niva Bupa offers various health insurance plans and benefits you can choose from, depending on your and your family's requirements. The company provides you with cashless health insurance, allowing you to enjoy a seamless health insurance claims experience.