Channel: Natural Ways

Category: Howto & Style

Tags: how to quit smokingtips to quit smokingsmokingsmokewhy smoking is badquit smokingwhat happens when you quit smoking cigaretteshealth tips

Description: Smoking releases thousands of chemicals into your body. The result isn’t only damage to your lungs, but also your heart and many other body structures. Below are some of the many health milestones you can experience by quitting smoking today. 8 hours after your last cigarette Within eight hours, your carbon monoxide levels will return to a more normal level. Carbon monoxide is a chemical present in cigarette smoke that replaces oxygen particles in the blood, lowering the amount of oxygen your tissues receive. When carbon monoxide goes away, your oxygen levels start to increase to more normal levels. This increased oxygen helps nourish tissues and blood vessels that were getting less oxygen while you were smoking. 24 hours after your last cigarette By the one-day mark, you’ve already decreased your risk of heart attack. This is because of reduced constriction of veins and arteries as well as increased oxygen-levels that go to the heart to boost its functioning. Nicotine levels in your bloodstream have also decreased to negligible amounts at this time. One week after your last cigarette The one-week milestone is important not only for your health, but for your success rate in quitting smoking successfully long term. Smokers who successfully make it one week without smoking are nine times as likely to successfully quit. The chances of quitting smoking for good increase with every attempt. If you can make it to one week, you can make it for a lifetime. One month after your last cigarette In just one short month, you can experience many health changes related to stopping smoking. One is feeling a sense of heightened overall energy. You may also notice that many smoking-related symptoms have decreased, such as sinus congestion and shortness of breath with exercise. In addition to these benefits, fibers in the lungs that help keep the lungs healthy are growing back. These fibers can help reduce excess mucus buildup and protect against bacterial-infections. Six months after your last cigarette After six months of quitting, many people often notice they’re better able to handle stressful events that come their way without feeling like they need to smoke. They may also notice they’re coughing up much less mucus and phlegm. This is because the airways are much less inflamed without the constant exposure to cigarette smoke and the chemicals contained within cigarettes. One year after your last cigarette After one year of quitting smoking, your lungs will have experienced dramatic health improvements in terms of capacity and functioning. You’ll notice how much easier you breathe when you’re exerting yourself and how much less coughing you have compared to when you smoked. Five years after your last cigarette Five years after you stop smoking, your risk of death from lung cancer has dropped by half compared to when you smoked, according to the University of North-Carolina. With so many health benefits of quitting smoking, the time to quit is now. Be sure to celebrate each time milestone along the way — you’re worth-it.