13 Wonderful Ways Your Body Changes When You Quit Smoking

Smoking is highly addictive. The nicotine in tobacco increases dopamine in the brain, a chemical that produces feelings of reward and pleasure. The feeling is almost immediately produced as within ten seconds of inhaling nicotine reaches the brain. In addition to being addictive, cigarettes cause serious health problems over time. Smoking cigarettes cause lung cancer, pneumonia, emphysema, heart disease, strokes, etc., and increases the risk of all types of cancer. Quitting smoking for staying healthy is an option that many are choosing. Here are the thirteen things that take place in your body after you quit smoking.

Twenty Minutes After You Quit Smoking, Your Heart Rate Will Drop

Having a lower heart rate is generally indicative of better health. The resting heart rate may range from 60 to 100 beats per minute for average adults. For a professional athlete, the resting heart rate might be about forty beats per minute. A lower heart rate also generally indicates overall better cardiovascular fitness as the heart system does not need to overwork itself to get the job done. Smoking increases the heart rate, clogs arteries and can produce an irregular heart rhythm. It damages the cardiovascular system and puts a strain on it. Within only twenty minutes after quitting smoking and the last cigarette, there is a noticeable drop in the heart rate towards a normal level. In addition to quitting smoking, regular exercise helps drop the resting heart rate. For measuring the resting heart rate, wait at least an hour after consuming any caffeine, wait more than two hours after exercise or a stressful event. The American Heart Association recommends measuring your resting heart rate immediately in the morning before getting out of bed.

Two Hours After Quitting Smoking Your Blood Pressure Returns To Normal

People with high blood pressure often do not show symptoms. Some people might experience dizziness or a pounding feeling in the head or chest. High blood pressure puts additional strain on the heart and blood vessels and causes heart and kidney disease, some forms of dementia, and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Smoking causes high blood pressure by increasing the amount of fat circulating in the blood and limiting the blood’s ability to carry oxygen with the carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke. The good news is that after only two hours of quitting smoking your blood pressure will return to normal. Quitting smoking will reduce your blood pressure levels by five to ten points. You will quickly begin experiencing improved circulation of the blood, and your fingertips and toes may begin to feel warm.

Twelve Hours After You Quit Smoking The Carbon Monoxide Levels In Your Body Begin Decreasing

Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless and known as a silent killer. Its effect on the body is to poison red blood cells and prevent oxygen from being absorbed into the bloodstream. If body tissues are not receiving adequate oxygen supplies, they stop functioning altogether. Carbon monoxide in cigarettes will immediately produce the effects of shortness of breath and increased heart rate while prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide in cigarettes will lead to heart disease and even heart failure as well as other health problems. In only twelve hours after quitting smoking, the carbon monoxide levels in your body will decrease and the oxygen in your blood will begin to increase to normal levels.

Twenty-Four Hours After You Quit Smoking You Lower Your Risk Of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease) occurs when cholesterol accumulates on the artery walls, which then narrows the arteries and restricts blood flow to the heart. Smoking causes coronary heart disease by increasing blood pressure and blood clotting and decreasing tolerance to exercise. Combined with dietary and lifestyle factors, it greatly increases the risk of coronary heart disease. In fact, smokers have a seventy percent greater risk of coronary heart disease than non-smokers. Just after quitting for twenty-four hours, your risk of coronary heart disease will start to decrease. That also means your risk of getting a heart attack is reduced and you are on your way to better heart health.

Forty-Eight Hours After You Quit Smoking Your Food Will Taste Better

Taste buds allow humans to experience the range of taste perception including sour, salty, sweet, bitter and umami. The human tongue has two thousand to eight thousand taste buds. Smoking changes the shape and ability of the taste buds to function properly. Studies have shown that smokers' taste buds are flatter than non-smokers' and their sense of experiencing taste is dulled. Smokers compared with non-smokers could similarly recognize the tastes sweet, sour and salty, but they were significantly less able to recognize bitter tastes even small amounts. Some researchers have even concluded that smoking can eventually permanently kill off the taste buds. Just 48 hours after quitting smoking, the nerve endings on the taste buds will begin improving and once again, you will soon be able to experience smells and tasting to the fullest.