Posted tagged ‘nicotine’

Tobacco Impacts Your Sleep

May 7, 2012

In past posts we’ve talked about the impact alcohol can have on sleep, which is widely known. Nicotine also has an impact, which seems less well known by the public.

Studies show that nicotine changes sleep, so that it takes longer to fall asleep initially, people sleep a lower percentage of the time in bed, and REM sleep and total sleep time is decreased. None of these are effects we want!

According to the Centers for Disease Control “In 2010, 43.5 million adults (19.3%) in the United States were current smokers—21.5% of men and 17.3% of women.” So that’s about 1 in 5 people who are exposing themselves to nicotine, and suffering the consequences on their sleep.

If you are someone who struggles with sleep, and smokes, it may be worth the effort to stop smoking in order to improve your sleep, and reap all the other health benefits too. Many state health departments have ‘Stop Smoking’ helplines, and your primary care physician can assist you.


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