Winter Health Tips: These Exercises Can Boost Your Lung Health

Winter and lungs have a fraught relationship in India: cold air can tighten airways and worsen from respiratory viruses surge. Seasonal smog due to Diwali, crop-burning and low winds piles extra insult on already vulnerable lungs according to studies. That combination raises clinic visits, worsens asthma/COPD symptoms and makes otherwise healthy people feel breathless more often. Keeping lungs fit through the season isn't just a “nice to have”, it lowers the risk of flare-ups, helps clear mucus, boosts exercise tolerance and supports immunity. Structured aerobic and resistance training and breathing-focused practices like yoga pranayama and diaphragmatic breathing improve symptoms, exercise capacity and quality of life for people with chronic lung disease and also raise baseline respiratory fitness in healthy adults. Keep reading as we share simple exercises you can try this winter for better lung health.

Exercises that can boost lung health this winter

1. Brisk walking

Walk at a pace that raises your breathing but still lets you talk in short sentences. Steady aerobic work improves oxygen uptake, reduces breathlessness and helps clear secretions studies suggest. For people with COPD, even moderate aerobic programmes improve exercise capacity and dyspnea. Do it outdoors only when air quality is good; otherwise use a treadmill or indoor corridor.

2. Stair or step-ups

Rapid but controlled stepping up and down a single step or two flights of stairs in short sets. Brief higher-load bouts raise cardiovascular fitness and strengthen muscles used for breathing and posture, improving endurance for daily tasks. Stop and rest if you feel dizzy or very breathless.

3. Interval aerobic bursts

Alternate 30–60 seconds of faster walking/light jogging with 60–90 seconds easy pace for 10–20 minutes. Warm up thoroughly first. Short intervals boost aerobic capacity and ventilatory efficiency faster than steady-state work, useful when cold limits total outdoor time. People with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction should pre-warm and, if prescribed, use a reliever inhaler before exercise.

4. Diaphragmatic breathing

Lie or sit; place a hand on belly; inhale slowly through nose letting belly rise, exhale slowly. Practice 5–10 minutes, twice daily. Trains the diaphragm (primary breathing muscle), reduces reliance on neck muscles, improves ventilation distribution and can lower the feeling of breathlessness in both healthy people and those with lung disease.

5. Pursed-lip breathing

Inhale normally through nose, exhale slowly through pursed lips (like gently blowing a candle) for twice the inhale time. Use during/after exertion. Slows exhalation, maintains small airway pressure and helps keep airways open longer, reduces air trapping and eases breathlessness. Taught widely in pulmonary rehab programs.

6. Yoga pranayama

Short pranayama routines like Bhramari (humming bee breath), alternate nostril breathing. Avoid very forceful kriya-type practices if you have unstable heart/lung disease. Multiple Indian trials show regular pranayama improves pulmonary function parameters and breath control; it also lowers stress and sympathetic activation, helpful in winter months when infections and stress rise.

Winter places several predictable stresses on the respiratory system like cold, viruses and seasonal pollution but many of the harms can be reduced with regular, evidence-based exercise and breathing practices. Start gently, warm up, adapt to air quality, and consult your doctor if you have chronic lung disease.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

References

The impact of cold on the respiratory tract and its consequences for respiratory disease — NCBI— 2018.

Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction — NCBI — 2025.

Seasonal distribution and upsurge of respiratory viruses — NIH — 2024.

Pre-to-post Diwali air quality assessment and particulate matter characterization — NIH — 2023.

Clinical effect of aerobic exercise training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — NIH — 2023.

Rehabilitation effects of land and water-based aerobic exercise in COPD — NCBI — 2021.

Inspiratory muscle training in patients with chronic respiratory disease — NIH — 2022.

Inspiratory muscle training during pulmonary rehabilitation — NIH — 2015.

Effect of Bhrāmarī Prāṇāyāma practice on pulmonary function — NIH — 2017.

Breathing exercises for adults with asthma — NIH — 2020.