How your cigarettes are destroying your sleep
26-01-2014
We already know that cigarettes are bad, they cause cancer, reduce fitness and can even make you impotent, but in case that wasn’t enough to make you quite maybe this will help. Cigarettes are not only killing you they are destroying your sleep as well. Yes, cigarettes are not only smokey killers but they can also impact your sleep so give them up now so you can get a good night’s sleep.
Only a few decades ago cigarettes were being promoted by sports people and doctors alike. They were seen as a good way of relaxing after a long day and some medical experts even thought that they were good for breathing problems. How times have changed. Now they are widely reviled as the killers that they are. They cause cancers, damage the lungs, reduce fitness and have a huge range of negative impacts on the body. One that has been recently uncovered is their negative influence on sleep.
Cigarettes are bad for your sleep
Research has found that smokers get fewer hours of sleep and the sleep that they do get is less restful. The study looked at 1,100 smokers and found that 17 per cent were getting fewer than six hours of sleep each night and that a whopping 28 per cent said that they would classify their sleep as ‘disturbed. For non-smokers the equivalent figures were 7 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
How they affect your sleep
While the study couldn’t definitively claim that the cigarettes were the cause of these sleeping issues, as smokers may have other habits that could affect their shut-eye such as staying up late to watch TV or getting little exercise, the reality is that chances are the cigarette smoking is playing a role in the sleeping problems, as has been shown by other studies on nicotine. By acting on various neurotransmitter systems, nicotine consumption also influences sleep and mood. Studies on the relationship between smoking, sleep disturbances, sleep-related disorders and depression have found that this chemical can play havoc with sleep and can have a range of negative impacts on both sleep quality and quantity.
These findings should be very concerning to smokers, especially when taken in conjunction with the other findings that sleep researchers have recently publicised. The last few years have been a fertile time for sleep research, with many of the benefits of sleep being uncovered.
Sleep and cigarettes
In the past sleep was seen as a way to recharge the batteries. However, recently this analogy has been found to be lacking. Certainly sleep recharges our batteries but it does so much more. In fact sleep has been found to be a fundamental aspect of our overall health and wellbeing. It plays a central role in a vast array of physical and psychological process, from memory processing to appetite control, from mood regulation through to healing.
If you smoke and find yourself feeling tired or struggling to sleep then maybe this is the final straw that will help you kick the habit. Stop smoking and you will sleep better and live longer.
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