Smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products like cigars can affect your sleep in several ways. Smoking and sleep disturbance often go hand in hand with each other. All stimulants interfere with the body’s ability to fall and stay asleep.
It all has to do with the active ingredient, nicotine.
First, depending on your level of use and dependence, your desire for additional nicotine during your sleep may cause you to awaken and lead to insomnia. Nicotine itself is a stimulant, and the use of it too close to bedtime may also make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Dependency means that sleep may be disrupted or delayed as the body craves nicotine which can also make it difficult to fall and stay asleep.
Smoking also is associated with a disruption of the basic structure of sleep called sleep architecture. This is the pattern of sleep stages that occur during the night. In a research study, it was shown that current smokers take slightly longer to fall asleep, sleep less, and have less deep sleep. For those who quit smoking, these differences in sleep architecture do not continue.
Not having enough sleep may result in sleep deprivation. Feeling sleepy and irritable during the day makes it hard to find the energy and commitment to break an established habit.
Feeling Relaxed??
Nicotine is a stimulant and, like caffeine, keeps you awake. Many smokers claim that smoking makes them feel calmer and helps them relax. Smokers may confuse the repetitive aspects of smoking and its use in social situations with a feeling of relaxation. But, in reality, smoking stimulates the mind and the body and causes sleep problems.
Smoking is highly addictive. It enters the central nervous system and raises the heart rate and blood pressure, and dilates the arteries. It raises the level of glucose in the blood and lowers resistance to infection and disease. Lung cancer is the most commonly associated with smoking, but it also contributes to arteriosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), coronary artery disease and stroke.
If you smoke and have disrupted sleep, this may be another reason you should quit for your health.
So what are you waiting for??
Start Now on Your journey to be a non-smoker.
