Have you ever found it difficult to breathe? Have you ever done anything that may have caused your breathing to be difficult? For most of us the honest answer would be yes to one or both questions.

We are a nation of people who suffer breathing problems. For confirmation, look around in public places. Many can be seen pausing to catch their breath at the top of a single flight of stairs. We see others wearing portable oxygen tanks with flexible tubing running into their noses. Respiratory challenges are not uncommon.

What we don’t see and may not be aware of is how many people cannot adequately breathe while asleep. To deal with this common condition, sleep apnea, sufferers may use a CPAP machine. When going to bed, they strap on a mask connected to a pump that forces air into their lungs. I know this problem personally; I have been forced to use a CPAP because of my having nasal obstructions resulting from a badly broken nose suffered over fifty years ago.

We have known for years that smoking tobacco was unhealthy. Now we know that “vaping” is also unhealthy. People, especially the young, are being misled by vaping shops. Consider reading the linked article

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/vaping-may-harm-lungs

My own father died of respiratory failure at the age of 72. He started as a boy and smoked for about forty years. He finally quit but it was too late to save him. He struggled to breathe for many months before succumbing.

I have never smoked yet have concerns about the health of my lungs. I walk often and do deep breathing exercises. Somehow, I have never wanted the kind of “breathless” feeling that results from abusing my own lungs.

This is not an essay that tells readers what to do. What it does attempt to do is to bring forth the truth. Whether one is moved by that truth is a personal choice.