Wonderful Ways Your Body Changes When You Quit Smoking

Many individuals around the world smoke cigarettes. The degree to which they smoke ranges from the occasional cigarette to chain-smoking. The nicotine found in cigarettes is what makes smoking incredibly hard to quit. It is because nicotine increases the levels of dopamine in the brain. This chemical produces pleasure in the brain and can act as a reward!

There are many ways in which individuals can quit smoking. Countless smoking cessation products exist, so individuals can choose which one works the best for them! Nicotine patches and other smoking cessation patches are the most common products that individuals choose to help them. Support groups for smokers can also help individuals quit! The journey to stop smoking will be challenging, but it is worth the effort.

Heart Rate Will Drop

Individuals who have a lower heart rate are typically healthier than those who have a higher heart rate. An average adult should have a resting heart rate of between sixty to one hundred beats per minute. Professional athletes, by comparison, usually have resting heart rates of approximately forty beats per minute. However, smoking increases an individual's heart rate dramatically. It will also clog their arteries and may result in an irregular rhythm. Ultimately, this damages the cardiovascular system by increasing the strain!

However, this effect can be reversed! Evidence shows that an individual's heart rate can drop in as little as twenty minutes after they quit smoking. This is the first step to getting their heart rate back to normal! They will, of course, need to be persistent and not smoke again. Regular exercise is also necessary for improving their heart rate!

Continue reading to reveal the effect that quitting smoking has on an individual's blood pressure next.

Blood Pressure Returns To Normal

In many cases, individuals who have high blood pressure are not going to show physical symptoms. If they do, it will be subtle, such as feeling dizzy, having a headache, or feeling chest discomfort. High blood pressure increases an individual's risk of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, heart attack, and even dementia. It is because high blood pressure puts more strain on the heart! Smoking causes high blood pressure because it increases the fat in the blood. This is part of what limits the blood's ability to carry oxygen throughout the body! Smoke also contains chemicals that take the place of oxygen.

However, individuals can see their blood pressure start to drop within two hours of quitting smoking. They will see a decrease of approximately five to ten points! This decrease improves circulation and will help individuals regain a warm feeling in their toes and fingers. To maintain healthy blood pressure, of course, individuals also need to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly!

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Carbon Monoxide Levels In The Body Begin Decreasing

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas. It is also known as the silent killer! Carbon monoxide exposure over time can cause symptoms that mimic the signs of the flu, including nausea and vomiting. Smoking, unfortunately, increases the carbon monoxide in the blood! It poisons the blood cells and stops them from absorbing oxygen. This means that these blood cells will stop functioning properly. Individuals will face the flu symptoms discussed, as well as shortness of breath and an increased heart rate.

These effects are magnified the longer an individual smokes and thus, is exposed to increased carbon monoxide. They will be at risk of heart disease and heart failure! However, individuals can reduce carbon monoxide in their bodies fairly quickly. In fact, the levels will drop within twelve hours of quitting smoking! Once the carbon monoxide drops, an individual's oxygen levels will return to normal.

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Lowers The Risk Of Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease is a condition in which cholesterol builds on the walls of the arteries. This narrows the arteries and, as a result, restricts blood flow to the heart! Individuals who smoke are at an increased risk of coronary artery disease because of their increased blood pressure and risk of blood clots. They are also not able to exercise as much, which is harmful. In addition, if they are not following a healthy diet, their risk will increase even more. Ultimately, individuals who smoke have, on average, a seventy percent higher risk of developing coronary artery disease. Even though their risk is incredibly high, they can make it drop dramatically within twenty-four hours of quitting smoking. They will not, however, be at the same level of risk as someone who never started smoking for a long time. They can, however, get there!

Reveal the effects that quitting smoking has on food next.

Food Will Taste Better

Taste is a significant part of how individuals enjoy their food. The ability to taste comes from the taste buds, and the tongue has between two to eight thousand of them! Unfortunately, smoking can change the ability of these taste buds to taste foods in the same way. This is mainly because the taste buds in individuals who smoke are flatter, which dulls their ability to taste! Some evidence even indicates that prolonged smoking can kill the taste buds, permanently compromising an individual's ability to taste the food they eat.

However, quitting smoking allows many individuals to see improvements in just forty-eight hours. The nerve endings in their taste buds will start to repair themselves at this point! The longer they go without smoking, the better their sense of taste is going to be.

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Nicotine Withdrawal

Nicotine is a significant component of cigarettes. It is what makes smoking incredibly addicting! This substance affects an individual's metabolism, brain, and hormones. It is because of these effects that so many individuals find it challenging to quit smoking forever. Their brain craves the nicotine!

Within three days, individuals will start to experience symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. These symptoms include nausea, headaches, irritability, anxiety, and depression. However, individuals need to harness as much willpower as possible to get through this period of withdrawal. Although they will always have to work at staying away from cigarettes, after the initial withdrawal period is over, individuals will be much better off!

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Exercise Tolerance Increases

It is clear that smoking decreases the capacity of the lungs. They have to work much harder to keep individuals breathing! Since the lungs have to work harder, individuals who smoke cannot exercise as much as others. They may already be breathing hard without exercise. Individuals who do not smoke will not be at the same level until the middle of their workout routine! They will not be able to exercise without feeling exhausted and incredibly winded shortly after starting. They may not exercise at all!

However, just two to three weeks after an individual quits smoking, their lung capacity will increase. Their circulation will improve as well, and all of their cells will get more oxygen-rich blood! As a result, individuals will be able to exercise more and get healthy again! Many individuals find that exercise is a great way to decrease stress, which can help take away some of the cravings for cigarettes they will encounter.

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Decrease In Coughing

Smoking irritates the lungs, which can trigger bouts of coughing! The irritation often means individuals are frequently short of breath, which can also induce coughing. However, the longer the irritation in the lungs lasts, the more coughing an individual will experience. This will lead to lung damage, increasing the risk of bacterial and viral infections.

Chronic coughing and shortness of breath are two major warning signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease! Patients who have a persistent cough are also at an increased risk of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. However, individuals can reverse the damage if they act swiftly. Within a few months of quitting smoking, the lungs will start to repair themselves. The cilia will begin to clean the lungs again! This helps the lungs function and wards off infections. An individual's coughing will decrease as a result!

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Half The Risk Of Heart Disease

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. In fact, it is the second only to cancer. Smoking is a massive risk factor for developing heart disease because it damages the arteries. This makes them narrower, often because of fatty deposits! Individuals who smoke will see many symptoms of heart disease early. They include shortness of breath, fatigue, rapid heart rate, and a chronic cough! As a smoker, individuals have twice the risk of developing heart disease than someone who does not smoke. However, after quitting, individuals can dramatically decrease their risk. In fact, after they have quit smoking for a year, they can reduce their risk by half.

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Reduced Risk Of Stroke

A stroke is a medical emergency in which blood flow to a part of the brain has stopped. This causes cells in the brain to die! A small stroke may only cause temporary weakness and damage, but stronger strokes can result in death. Unfortunately, individuals who smoke are increasing their risk of a stroke! One of the biggest reasons for this is blood clots, which can block blood from getting to parts of the brain. This is yet another major reason why individuals need to quit smoking! Reducing the risk of a stroke is going to take a very long time. It will take up to fifteen years after quitting for a smoker's risk to equal a non-smoker's risk. It can be as little as five years, but it depends on how long and how often an individual smoked.

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Reduce Risk Of Lung Cancer

Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. In fact, it has been linked to ninety percent of all lung cancer deaths! Smoking increases an individual's risk of developing lung cancer because tobacco smoke has over seven thousand chemicals. Inhaling these chemicals damages the lining of the lungs! The damage can cause cancerous tumors to grow. However, ten years after an individual quits smoking, their risk of lung cancer is cut in half. Their risk of other cancers, including esophageal, pancreatic, and kidney cancers, will also be reduced! Individuals who quit smoking do not have to wait for ten years for their risk to reduce. This effect will begin almost immediately. It just takes time to get to half the risk!

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Fifteen Years Later The Risk Of Heart Disease Equals A Non-Smoker’s

As previously discussed, individuals who smoke are at a much higher risk of developing heart disease in the future than someone who does not smoke! This is, once again, because of the narrowed arteries that smoking causes. In addition, heart disease has been linked to individuals who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a lack of exercise. All of these appear in individuals who smoke more often than those who do not! In addition to making individuals more at risk of developing heart disease, evidence also shows that smokers are at a three hundred percent higher risk of dying from heart disease! This gets even higher when other lifestyle factors are taking into account. Individuals who quit smoking can decrease their risk again. This is an excellent thing for them and those around them! It will take up to fifteen years for a smoker's risk of heart disease to equal that of a non-smoker's.