Does Nicotine Make You Tired?

Many cigarette smokers and vaping enthusiasts often talk about the after-effects of indulging in a smoke. Some feel energetic and invigorated, while others experience the exact opposite. Whatever may be the form in which you consume nicotine, it can make you feel tired and sleepy. If you’ve been searching around for ways to get around the problem, here’s some detailed information we have collected.

Let’s Talk About the Nicotine in Cigarettes

Nicotine has the effect of modulating your moods. If you’ve been feeling sleepy, bored, lethargic, or tired, getting a smoke acts as an instant pick-me-up. You’ll feel stimulated, alert, and energized quickly. On the flip side, smoking a cigarette when feeling anxious, stressed, and high-wired will calm down your nerves. Pumping nicotine into your system all through the day will maintain your mood, which is why withdrawal symptoms are a huge problem when quitting.

Nicotine Interferes With Your Sleep Patterns

Smoking cigarettes regularly can interfere with your sleep patterns and disrupt your rest. Here’s why:

  • The primary reason is that the stimulating effects might hamper your ability to drop off and stay asleep. For this reason, avoiding a cigarette for at least four hours before bedtime is recommended.
  • Because of the lack of restful sleep, you’re likely to feel tired and sleepy during the day. Smokers tend to light up more often because they need the stimulating effects of nicotine to function normally and get work done. And, that leads to a continuous cycle that is hard to break.
  • Inhaling cigarette smoke along with other toxic chemicals causes irritation to the tissues in your nose and throat. The inflammation tends to hamper the free flow of air. This is why many smokers develop sleep apnea. That’s a condition where the tissues in the throat sag when the patient lays in the prone position. Your brain recognizes the breathing issue and triggers a response to wake you up for a few seconds. People with sleep apnea wake up several times during the night without being aware of it. As a result, they’re tired and sleepy during the day.
  • Your body craves a constant fix of nicotine even at night when you’re asleep. And, when you don’t smoke, you experience withdrawal symptoms. That’s the reason why many people wake up feeling restless and irritable like they didn’t get a good night’s rest. They absolutely need to light up as soon as they get out of bed.
  • A smoker’s cough is another problem that could keep you up at night. Constant coughing occurs when the lungs attempt to get rid of the buildup of toxins and dirt trapped in the mucous.

Keep in mind that the nicotine in your bloodstream covers up the exhaustion because it acts as a stimulant. Many smokers use a fix to get back their energy levels to function normally. But, the long-term effects can be disastrous for your health.

Cigarette Smoking Interferes with Oxygen Absorption

Smokers tend to feel tired and sleepy all day also because their bodies don’t receive adequate oxygen. Toxins like tar build up in the lungs and air sacs or alveoli, because of which they lose their elasticity. Over time, smokers develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD with symptoms like wheezing, bronchitis, shortness of breath, fatigue, and lack of energy. Even minimal activity can leave you feeling tired.

The buildup of toxins interferes with the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide. As a result, organs like the heart, brain, and muscles are starved of oxygen and unable to function properly. Excessive carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in the blood also contribute to feelings of lethargy and sleepiness. The life-threatening cyanide entering your bloodstream is another issue you should worry about.

Symptoms of Tiredness Will Likely Worsen When You Quit Smoking

Don’t be surprised if your sleep continues to be disrupted in the weeks right after you quit smoking. Most people trying to stop relapse into the habit because they can’t seem to fall and stay asleep. Lack of sleep adds to feelings of depression and anxiety along with a host of other side effects, making quitting extremely difficult.

That happens because your body is conditioned to function on a nicotine fix. The cravings combined with withdrawal symptoms make it impossible to relax sufficiently to drop off. You can expect that withdrawal-related insomnia and tiredness will likely intensify during the first few days of your detox. Over the next few weeks, as your body adjusts to functioning without nicotine, the symptoms should ease off.

Using Nicotine Replacement Therapy to Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health. Giving it up entirely needs sheer willpower because of the withdrawal symptoms that can get hard to manage. You could try adopting Nicotine Replacement Therapy options with the guidance of your medical practitioner. Vaping with successively lower percentages of nicotine is also an effective way to kill your smoking habit. But, remember not to replace one form of nicotine abuse with another.

Vaping Can Make You Feel Fatigued and Tired

If you’ve been thinking of switching to vaping to quit smoking, you could start with brands like the Hyde rechargeable vape. During the first few days after taking up vaping, chances are that you’ll feel exhausted with low energy levels. If that happens, the solution could be to choose e-liquids with lower levels of nicotine. Understand that vapes contain higher nicotine concentrations, and just a few draws are enough to give you the same fix as an entire cigarette.

High Nicotine Concentrations Can Have Side Effects

Vapers tend to consume more nicotine than the levels they are typically habituated to because of the delicious flavors. If you feel tired, drowsy, nauseous, dizzy, and get headaches, that’s an indication that you need to change your e-liquid. As your body adjusts to vaping, you should find your energy levels returning. Soon you’ll be able to kick your nicotine habit completely. Consider vaping with 0% nicotine around two hours before bedtime to take away the stimulating effects. Your sleep patterns are likely to normalize quickly.

You’ll Need to Learn the Right Vaping Techniques.

Contrary to popular belief, smoking a cigarette and vaping are not the same. Vaping takes time to learn, and first-time vapers often make the error of taking long, deep draws. This technique depletes oxygen levels in the body quickly, leaving you feeling tired after vaping. Holding down the draw for too long can also have this effect. Further, you need to take frequent breaks in between each draw to replenish the oxygen intake. The correct technique involves taking short draws, releasing within a few seconds, and taking a break after every few inhalations. Most importantly, lower the nicotine levels until you can eliminate the drug completely.

At Blackout Vapors, we understand how difficult it is to quit smoking for good. While you can use vaping as a smoking cessation tool, be responsible for your vape and learn how to use it correctly. Don’t let it do more harm than good. If you need more information, we welcome your queries. Visit us or use the live chat option for instant responses. You can also email us at support@blackoutvapors.com.

References:

  1. How Smoking Affects Sleep?
  2. COPD
  3. What Does Vaping Do To Your Lungs?
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