Does Nicotine Make You Tired? Exploring Smoking & Tiredness
Find out if quitting smoking has a direct impact on your energy levels. Learn how nicotine affects your body and what to expect during the cessation process.
What’s stopping you?
Not sure if you’re ready to stop smoking? Worried about finding it difficult?
Start quizDoes smoking make you tired?
Smoking has a negative effect on energy levels in many ways, so the answer to the question, does smoking make you tired and feel weak, is a resounding “yes!”.
When you smoke, your body begins to process nicotine and other chemicals, which initially causes an adrenaline rush and a temporary feeling of being awake.
Nicotine reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry, which can make you feel tired and weak.
The body reacts to nicotine by first experiencing stimulation, but this is quickly followed by fatigue as the effects wear off.
Nicotine also stimulates the brain to release dopamine, leading to pleasurable feelings and a sense of well-being, but this effect is short-lived and often followed by tiredness and sluggishness.
Vapes, vaping nicotine, and other tobacco products can have similar effects on tiredness and sleep as smoking cigarettes. Vaping and using vapes may initially make users feel awake, but they often lead to fatigue and disrupted sleep.
Impact on lung function
Smokers have a lowered lung capacity than that of non-smokers.
Less oxygen in the lungs means less oxygen to the brain, muscles, and other bodily systems. Over time, this can easily lead to fatigue and reduced respiratory function.
One of the main reasons for smokers to feel tired is that their body may not be receiving enough oxygen due to the damage caused by the cigarette smoke.
Cigarette smoke contains various toxins, including tar which affect the cleaning process of the lungs by sticking to the lungs. This reduces the oxygen absorbing capacity of the lungs.
When the body organs like the heart and brain, do not get enough oxygen we feel tired. The blocked airways in the lungs cause a continuous cough as the lungs fail to eliminate the dirt-containing mucous from the lungs.
Smoking causes damage to the lungs due to exposure to carbon monoxide and cyanide in the cigarette smoke.
The alveoli of the lungs lose the elasticity and this will lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. This disease cause shortness of breath, bronchitis, wheezing, etc. all these health problems can lead to tiredness.
Impact on blood & the heart
The smoke from tobacco has several immediate effects on the working of the heart and blood vessels.
When you start smoking due to the nicotine, the heart rate increases by 30% within the first 10 minutes, this will put a strain on your heart muscles as they have to beat faster to maintain the blood supply to the organs.
The oxygen carrying ability of the blood decreases due to the carbon monoxide absorbed into the blood while smoking. The organs will not receive the required oxygen and makes you feel tired.
How does smoking affect sleep?
As discussed above, the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood decreases due to the carbon monoxide absorbed into the blood while smoking. The organs will not receive the required oxygen which makes you feel tired.
This can then lead to problems such as sleep fragmentation, insomnia, snoring, and sleep apnoea. Smoking and other nicotine products can cause a range of sleep problems, including trouble sleeping, frequent wake episodes during the night, and reduced sleep hours.
Sleep issues associated with smoking are primarily attributed to nicotine, which is the active ingredient in tobacco products.
Using nicotine products before bed or at bedtime can negatively affect sleep quality and increase the risk of sleep apnea.
Nicotine is a stimulant, and, similar to caffeine, both substances can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to feeling sleepy during the day.
Cravings for nicotine can also cause trouble sleeping and frequent waking during the night.
The overall risks associated with nicotine products include their negative impact on sleep and the potential for long-term sleep disorders.
The result is a variety of sleep issues including insomnia.
Fragmented sleep
Smokers tend to have fragmented sleep that leads to insomnia, take slightly longer to fall asleep (sleep latency), enjoy less deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), experience more sleep disruptions, and frequently complain about difficulty in either falling asleep or staying asleep, even though smoking makes them tired.
Snoring & sleep apnoea
Smoking can also increase the likelihood and severity of both snoring and sleep apnoea.
This is likely due to the effects of harmful chemicals and pollutants present in cigarette smoke. These irritants contribute to swelling of the airway, especially the soft tissues lining the nose and throat. Damage to the lungs may lead to other problems and decrease oxygen levels at night.
As the tissues swell, airflow changes and the resulting vibration in sleep will cause snoring. In addition, the collapse of the airway that occurs in sleep apnoea may be more likely – it is an extremely dangerous and damaging condition.
Does stopping smoking make you tired?
Far from stopping smoking making you feel tired – when you use a method that makes it easy and enjoyable to stop – you can enjoy a huge boost in energy when you quit.
However, some people experience withdrawal symptoms, including nicotine withdrawal, which can cause uncomfortable symptoms such as fatigue, cravings, and trouble sleeping.
These withdrawal symptoms are temporary and often occur when quitting smoking or quitting vaping.
Experiencing withdrawal symptoms can lead to feeling tired in the short term, but overcoming withdrawal leads to better sleep and improved mental health in the long run.
So the answer to the questions, will quitting smoking make me tired? or does quitting cigarettes make you feel tired?, the answer is clear: not at all, as long as you use the right method of quitting.
How Long Does Fatigue Last After Quitting Smoking?
Fatigue after quitting smoking can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the individual.
Research shows that withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue and sleep disturbances, are common but temporary after quitting smoking.
Using a nicotine patch as part of nicotine replacement therapy can sometimes cause temporary sleep difficulties, but these usually improve over time.
Alcohol consumption during this period can further disrupt sleep and prolong feelings of tiredness.
However, with the right approach, like Allen Carr’s Easyway, you can enjoy a huge boost in energy when you quit.
While nicotine tiredness might make you feel tired after quitting smoking, the Easyway method helps you overcome this.
This means you can break the cycle of smoking and fatigue, leading to a revitalised and more energetic life, free from fatigue after smoking a cigarette.
Does Champix/Chantix make you feel tired?
Tiredness caused by difficulty sleeping and abnormal dreams is a common side effect of the drug.
In other smoking cessation aids, such as those containing nicotine, sleep disruption can also be caused.
However, with the right approach, like Allen Carr’s Easyway, you can enjoy a huge boost in energy when you quit.
Final thoughts
If you learn how to stop smoking correctly, with a method which is drug free and focuses on the psychological aspects of why you smoke – you should emerge as a happy non-smoker and full of energy and enthusiasm for life.
What programme is right for you?
Both programmes are a form of spoken therapy delivered in simple English with no scare stories or images.
Both cover the illusions of the addiction/issue, question your beliefs, provide insights into why you think as you do, shows you how to gain freedom and changes the way you will think about the addiction/issue so that you can leave free without any feeling of loss or battle of wills.
The in-person group seminars are a live one-day course delivered by trained therapists, all of whom stopped with the method. They are delivered either online via Zoom or at a centre and are in groups of up to 25 people. There are shorter booster seminars that are different to the first seminar for the few that require them. There is also a money-back guarantee.
The online video is a pre-recorded programme that can be streamed to your device. There are two options quit vaping or quit vaping for teens, and they are presented by a therapist who has helped thousands of people to freedom. They can be accessed anywhere and at anytime.
