It's a strange contradiction: Today, we pay more attention to our health than ever before. We track our steps, weigh our food, and optimize our sleep. But we overlook the most important thing: breathing. We take in air about 20,000 times a day. Automatically. Without even thinking about it. Until suddenly, it's no longer as easy as it used to be.
Anyone who has lived in a city for a long time and then goes back to the seaside for the first time knows this feeling: The first deep breath on the beach is different. Freer. Farther. As if the lungs can finally expand properly. Are we just imagining it? Or do people really breathe differently in the city?
The answer lies not only in what we see—the gray haze above the rooftops, the clouds of exhaust fumes behind buses. It lies above all in what remains invisible. In tiny particles we can't see. In gases we can't smell. In a gradual change in our respiratory system that happens so slowly that we only notice it once it's become a habit.
The invisible difference: What separates city air from sea air
When experts talk about air quality, they mean much more than just the absence of smoke. They're talking about a mixture of different substances, the composition of which is completely different in the city than at the seaside or in the forest.
The biggest problem in cities is tiny particles known as particulate matter. These particles are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Some are smaller than a hundredth of a millimeter. By comparison, a human hair is about 70 times thicker. This particulate matter is created everywhere – by car exhausts, heating systems, factories, even the wear and tear of brakes and car tires. It floats invisibly in the air we breathe every day.
The insidious thing about these tiny particles is their size. Larger dust particles get stuck in the nose or throat. There, they're transported back up by a kind of mucus conveyor belt and coughed out. But the very small particles make it deep into the lungs. They reach the alveoli – the tiny air sacs where oxygen is transferred into the blood. The very smallest can even penetrate the walls of these sacs and enter the bloodstream directly. From there, they spread throughout the body.
But particulate matter is only part of the problem. Nitrogen dioxide – a gas that comes primarily from diesel exhaust – directly irritates mucous membranes. Ozone, which forms on hot summer days, attacks lung tissue. And then there are countless chemicals from varnishes, paints, and building materials that are particularly problematic indoors. We spend an average of 90 percent of our lives there.
What happens to our lungs
What happens when our lungs are exposed to this cocktail day after day, year after year? The body tries to adapt. But this adaptation comes at a price.
The mucous membranes in the respiratory tract react to the constant irritation with persistent inflammation. The fine hairs that normally transport dirt upwards no longer function properly. The body produces more mucus to bind the invaders. What may be helpful in the short term becomes a problem in the long term: The airways narrow, and the lungs have to work harder to absorb the same amount of oxygen.
People who live in cities for years actually breathe differently. Their breaths become shallower. Their breathing rate increases slightly. The lungs are constantly in defense mode. What would be the exception in nature—acute stress—becomes a permanent condition in the city.
Studies show that children in congested urban areas are more likely to develop asthma. Their lungs don't develop as well as those of children growing up in rural areas. The first years of life are crucial for lung development. Damage during this time often cannot be fully repaired later.
By the sea: Why breathing is so different there
Almost everyone has experienced it: After weeks in the city, you suddenly find yourself by the sea. Your toes in the sand, the wind in your face – and that first deep breath. It doesn't just feel different. It is different.
Sea air is fundamentally different from city air. The most obvious thing is its purity. Above the sea, there are hardly any sources of particulate matter. No cars, no factories, no heating. The wind constantly cleans the air. What we breathe is much closer to the original air our lungs were designed for.
But it's not just about what's missing. It's also about something that's not found in the city: salt.
Salt in the air: More than just a taste
Anyone standing by the sea can taste salt on their lips. But what lands on our skin also reaches our respiratory tract. With every breath, we inhale tiny salt particles. They are created by spray and waves and float in the air as fine droplets. These salt particles are larger than particulate matter, but small enough to penetrate deep into the respiratory tract.
Salt has a remarkable effect on mucous membranes. It attracts water, thereby thinning thick mucus. This facilitates its removal from the lungs. The fine hairs in the respiratory tract can function more effectively. Salt also has a mild antimicrobial effect – it slows the growth of bacteria and can reduce inflammation. This isn't esoteric, but physiology. Saline inhalations have been used for centuries to treat respiratory problems.
At the seaside, this inhalation happens naturally. Every walk on the beach is also good for the lungs. People with asthma, chronic bronchitis , or allergies often report that their symptoms subside significantly at the seaside. Some describe it like this: "The lungs can finally breathe a sigh of relief." This feeling of relief sometimes sets in after just a few hours.
The right moisture makes the difference
Another often overlooked factor is humidity. Sea air is more humid than city air, especially compared to heated rooms in winter. Dry air dries out the mucous membranes, making them more susceptible to irritation and infections. Humid air keeps the mucous membranes supple and functioning properly.
The combination makes the difference: clean, saline, and sufficiently humid air. These are ideal conditions for our respiratory system. It's no wonder that health resorts on the North and Baltic Seas, the Mediterranean, or the Dead Sea have always been popular destinations for people with lung problems. The healing effects of these places are measurable and scientifically proven.
But very few of us can live permanently by the sea. Most return to the city after their vacation—back to exhaust fumes, particulate matter, and dry, heated air. And the question remains: Does breathing freely really have to be a rare holiday feeling?
The long-term consequences: When the city makes you sick
Extreme air pollution is making headlines – smog alerts in major cities, driving bans in German cities. But the greatest danger lies elsewhere. It lies in everyday pollution that we barely notice. In pollutant levels that remain below official limits, yet still leave their mark year after year.
The World Health Organization significantly tightened its air quality recommendations in 2021. Not because new pollutants were discovered, but because it became increasingly clear that even low concentrations cause long-term health damage. Levels that were once considered safe are now linked to increased cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.
When the defense becomes a burden
Chronic inflammation – that's the key word when it comes to the long-term consequences of poor air quality. Our immune system is designed to ward off short-term threats: a cold, an injury, brief contact with pollutants. It mobilizes defense cells, fights the invaders, and then calms down again.
There's no respite in the city. Pollutants are always there. The immune system remains constantly activated. The inflammation becomes chronic. And chronic inflammation changes the tissue. The walls of the bronchi thicken. The airways remain permanently narrowed. Scar tissue develops, making the lungs stiffer. What began as protection becomes a disease itself.
COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – is known to many as a smoker's disease. But non-smokers can also develop COPD if they are exposed to poor air quality for decades. The symptoms develop gradually: first an occasional cough, then sputum production, later shortness of breath upon exertion, and eventually shortness of breath even at rest. Many sufferers only notice the deterioration late because they have slowly become accustomed to it over the years.
The effects go beyond the lungs
But it doesn't stop at the lungs. The smallest particulate matter enters the bloodstream and triggers inflammation in other organs as well. Studies show that air pollution increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. The fine particles appear to accelerate arteriosclerosis. The brain isn't spared either – there's evidence of a link to cognitive decline and dementia.
Children are particularly at risk. Their lungs are still developing. They breathe in relatively more air than adults. And they spend more time outdoors. Studies show that children in heavily polluted cities grow up with weaker lung function—a disadvantage that remains.
Pregnant women in polluted areas also have a higher risk of premature births and babies with low birth weight. Inflammatory reactions caused by inhaled particles appear to be the cause.
The hidden pollution from urban air doesn't just affect people with respiratory diseases. It potentially affects every city dweller—except that the consequences often only become apparent after years.
What we can learn from the sea
In light of these facts, one might despair. Those who live in the city—for work, for family, for the love of urban life—can't simply move to the sea. But perhaps we can bring a piece of the sea home with us.
The knowledge that salty air is good for the respiratory system is not new. As early as the 19th century, patients with lung diseases were sent to the seaside or to salt mines for treatment. The targeted inhalation of salty air—called halotherapy—has a long tradition and has also been scientifically studied in recent decades.
Salt air for your home: An old idea reimagined
Healing tunnels in salt mines have long existed in Eastern Europe. People with respiratory diseases spend several hours there in salt-enriched air. Studies report improvements in asthma, chronic bronchitis, and allergies. Although these studies are not always perfect, they indicate real effects.
Modern salt rooms attempt to recreate these conditions. The walls are lined with salt, and fine salt is released into the air. People sit there, breathe, and relax. Some experience significant relief, others less so. The effect seems to vary from person to person.
The idea behind it is obvious: If sea air is proven to help, it should also be possible to produce it artificially. The challenge lies in the details – the right particle size, the right amount, the right duration. Too much salt can dry out the respiratory tract, too little has no effect. It's a balance.
Small improvements in your own home
We can't change the air outside. But we do have some control over the air inside our own four walls. Regular ventilation—preferably at times with less traffic—brings in fresh air. Air purifiers with good filters can reduce particulate matter and allergens, although they're not a miracle cure.
Plants improve the indoor climate. They produce oxygen and increase humidity. Although their effect on pollutants is often overestimated—you would need a lot of plants for a measurable effect—they contribute to a more pleasant climate.
Humidity is often underestimated. In winter, it often drops to 20 or 30 percent in heated rooms—desert levels. 40 to 60 percent is ideal for the respiratory system. Humidifiers can help, but you have to be careful to keep them clean.
And now there are also small devices that make the principle of salt inhalation usable at home. Compact salt air devices release finely nebulized salt into the room air – like a gentle, continuous inhalation. Of course, they are no substitute for a real stay at the seaside or medical treatment for serious illnesses. But for people who often struggle with irritated airways, who wake up at night with a stuffy nose, or whose mucous membranes suffer from the city air, they can be a useful addition. A small attempt to bring a touch of sea air into everyday life.
Conclusion: Learn to breathe consciously again
We live in contradictory times. Our life expectancy has never been higher, and access to medical care has never been better. At the same time, millions of people breathe air every day that is harmful to their health. The hidden pollution of urban air is one of the greatest, yet least visible, health threats of our time.
City dwellers do breathe differently—not just physically, but also figuratively. They breathe in an environment far removed from what our lungs are designed for. Our respiratory systems have evolved over millennia to process clean, humid, salty sea air or pure forest air. Not the particle soup of a modern metropolis.
But giving up isn't a solution. Awareness is the first step. Those who understand what's happening to their lungs, those who know the differences between city and sea air, can make conscious decisions. Perhaps travel to the countryside more often. Perhaps take more time off to the sea. Perhaps make small changes in your home that improve air quality.
The longing for the sea, for that first deep breath on the beach, is more than just vacation romance. It's the longing of our lungs for what they truly need: For clean air. For moisture. For salt. For the opportunity to simply breathe – without effort, without resistance, without chronic stress.
Perhaps the most important insight is this: breathing isn't something we take for granted. It's worth paying attention to. The air we breathe shapes our health more than we often realize. And while we can't change the city air overnight, we can create small oases—moments, places, habits—where our lungs can rest.
For some, a mini salt air device for the home can be a practical aid. It's not a miracle solution, but it's one tool among many. A way to at least partially integrate the principle of sea air into everyday life without having to move.
Ultimately, it's about restoring breathing to what it should be: natural, effortless, healthy. A matter of course, something we don't have to think about. A deep breath that feels like being at the ocean—even if the ocean is far away.
