Exercise Helps You To Quit Smoking

Exercising is good for the body, soul, and mind. Studies have shown that most smokers want to quit so badly but do not know how. Exercise can contribute positively to your quitting journey. Quitting smoking has many drawbacks that lead people to a relapse.

Many studies have revealed that quitting smoking is a progressive journey that has failures and successes. Exercise can ease the journey and make things a little tolerable for a person looking to live a smoking-free life. Let us look at some of the ways exercise helps you quit smoking.

Healthy Distraction

A person who has developed any habit for a long time requires some kind of distraction to quit. Smoking is no exception, and an avid smoker needs something to keep his or her mind off the cancer stick. Many people might jump from the frying pan into the fire. Some might distract themselves with alcohol and end up developing a new addiction altogether.

Exercise will keep your mind off the smoke and still keep your body healthy. Some studies have revealed that a craving for a cigarette lasts for five minutes. When you feel the irresistible urge to smoke, you can run to the park and back. Apart from vaping with tobacco e-juice, exercising will keep you away from the smoke.

Eases withdrawal symptoms

Quitting smoking is not as easy as it sounds. Like any addiction, nicotine brings severe withdrawals symptoms. You might feel fatigued, headache, insomnia, mood swings, and depression among other symptoms.

A few minutes at the gym can ease some of these withdrawal symptoms and make quitting smoking much easy. When the withdrawal symptoms are done away with, the chances of relapsing are reduced significantly.

When you exercise, euphorias are produced to reduce stress and pain. Many former smokers have said that exercise gives the same feeling as smoking. It also keeps cravings at bay for a long time.

Deals with weight Gain

One of the most significant effects of quitting smoking is weight gain. The weight gain is attributed to eating more food as a replacement for cigarettes. You are likely to add ten pounds after quitting. Exercise and fitness can curb this change. You do not want to quit smoking and add a few pounds.

The journey should be holistic to show positive results.  Another reason for weight gain is the reduced metabolism that comes after nicotine withdrawal. When you ingest nicotine, your body metabolism shoots up. Maybe this is why most avid smokers have a slim frame.

The reduced metabolism can be boosted by a few minutes of exercise per day. The body movement and the burning of fat during exercise will keep off the extra pounds.

Detoxification

Exercise aids in ridding the body of toxins through sweat. The body of a smoker is full of tar and carcinogens that accumulate over time. When exercise is incorporated, the body takes the chance to take out these carcinogens.

During cardio exercises, the body takes in much oxygen. This oxygen replaces the toxic carbon monoxide that gets into the body while smoking. Most former smokers have experienced a better sense of smell after quitting smoking.

Helps with coping with stress

Have you ever seen a person smoking angrily after an argument? This is one of the stress coping mechanisms of smokers. When a smoker is subjected to stress, he or she runs for a smoke to calm the nerves. This habit does nothing to ease the nicotine addiction.

When a person starts exercising as a way to cope with stress, the urge to smoke is reduced. You still get a way to vent without resulting in the smoke. The psychological stress that comes with quitting smoking can be eased with a jog or a morning run. You will live a stress-free life and reduce the chances of relapsing to smoking.

There you have it, folks. Exercising can help you become a non-smoker. Did you know that your body can return to the state of a non-smoker fifteen years after quitting smoking? Most effects of smoking are reversible, and you will notice some changes a few hours after quitting.

At first, the exercises might weigh you down, but your body adjusts accordingly. Do not go all hardcore at the gym on day one. Start with baby steps and adapt slowly.

About The Author:

Tahmina Jannat is a freelancer and content developer for online business .and she loved writing and traveling and also loves sharing experiences.

Love to Share