Our respiratory system is bodies’ super hero! Let’s learn five luxurious lungs facts for kids.
When you breathe in the air you take in fills up the little air bags which are called alveoli. Your lungs have around 600 million alveoli and they have a very important job. They fill up with air and then bring the oxygen into your bloodstream. Red blood cells carry that oxygen to where your body needs it. The alveoli filling with air is what makes your lungs expand and get bigger when you breathe in.
When we breathe in we take in the air around us, which is mainly oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Our lungs take in the oxygen and create waste carbon dioxide which we then breathe out. But we don’t just breathe out carbon dioxide we also breathe out a small amount of water too.
Adults breathe out around 17.5 millilitres of water every hour, that’s a little bit more than a tablespoon of water. So, it’s important to keep hydrated as we are always losing water by breathing.
This is because the left lung has to make room for your heart. The left lung and the right lung are very different. Each of the lungs are made up of lobes which all do the job of bringing fresh air into the bloodstream and getting rid of carbon dioxide. The ring lung has three of these lobes but because the left lung is smaller it only has two lobes.
The Ancient Egyptians knew what the lungs looked like as they removed it while mummifying bodies. They understood that the windpipe and lungs worked together to bring air in and out of the body.
Ancient Egyptian art is full of symbols that represent other things. They used the lungs and windpipe as a symbol of unity as they worked together to keep the body healthy. The windpipe represented the upper lands of Egypt and the lung represented the lower lands of Egypt. They worked together to keep Egypt healthy just like the lungs and windpipe.
The brain controls all the functions of the body including how the lungs work. That is why when you are scared or exercising the brain makes you breathe heavier. If you concentrate you can control your breaths and this can help you relax. Try it next time you are upset or stressed just count your breaths in for 7 seconds then back out for 7 seconds. After a little bit of this breathing you will be a lot calmer. If you can’t do 7 seconds, try 5 or 6. This is a great way to relax if you can’t sleep too.
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