Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in Smoking is an addiction that is connected with both your body and your mind. Your body will start to detoxify itself shortly after your last cigarette.
Nicotine increases the levels of pleasure inducing chemicals in your brain. It also acts as a central nervous system stimulant, and increases both your blood pressure and your heart rate. Once you stop smoking and stop the nicotine doses, your body responds with severe cravings and withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms try to convince you that you need to light up a cigarette. Your physical withdrawal will last only a limited time. The long-term cravings are due to the psychological dependency.
Many smokers avoid quitting because they are afraid of what will happen to them when they stop. Common withdrawal symptoms from nicotine include restlessness, inability to sleep, weight gain, constipation and lack of concentration. These symptoms are short lived, with the most extreme symptoms disappearing after three to four days. During this time period, you can treat yourself the same as you would if you had the flu. Take it easy, get plenty of rest, and maybe take some time away from work. It will pass, and you will feel much better in a short time.
The first thing is to just stop smoking. Some smokers believe that it is enough just to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes smoked. This is completely wrong. If you continue to smoke, you are not allowing detox processes of your body to work. Moreover, it is a slippery slope that usually leads to unsuccessful results – after all, you need just one stressful situation to increase your smoking again.
Just 24 hours after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal. Within a week of quitting, your risk of heart attack begins to decrease, your sense of smell and taste improve, and your breathing becomes easier.
Various products can help the quit smoking detox process. There are medications, herbs and even specific foods that can help. All you need to do is to ask your doctor for the ones most suitable for you.
The body detoxification is only one part of the quitting process. The psychological addiction is more difficult to deal with, and the temptation to light up can remain strong even after the physical cravings have vanished. It’s important to have a plan for dealing with situations and events that could trigger the desire for a cigarette.