Nicotine withdrawal affects your sleep patterns. When the nicotine level in your body drops after you quit smoking, it triggers your body to experience different withdrawal symptoms and cravings. There are two ways how smoking cessation can affect you sleep, either you spend more time in bed or find it very difficult to stay in bed at night. Lack of quality sleep can cause weariness, low energy and some health issues caused by the change in your metabolism. However, you can still do something to lessen the effect of smoking cessation on your sleep. Below are 5 ways how you can get better sleep at night while keeping yourself smoke free:
1. Do some exercises.
Contrary to what many people believe, doing vigorous exercises just before going to bed or three hours before bedtime can in fact worsen your sleeping difficulty. You may find it surprising because of the common belief that tiring yourself helps you get a good night sleep. Vigorous exercises before bedtime stimulates your muscles, heart, and brain – a total opposite of what you need before bedtime.
The better way to do it is do your exercises when you wake up early in the morning. Morning exercises can help you improve your mood and relieve stress which also helps you get a better sleep at night. Exposure to the morning sun can further improve your sleep at night.
2. Eat sleep foods.
Adding healthy foods into your diet after quitting can increase the possibility of getting quality sleep at night. You may want to eat more foods rich in B6 like salmon, tuna, and halibut. B6 is an essential vitamin that helps you body produce melatonin, a sleep hormone that is triggered by darkness. Adding dairy products into your diet or foods rich in calcium can also help you get better sleep at night. Nicotine washes calcium in your body. Being calcium deficient makes it harder for you to sleep.
3. Remove any disturbances in your room.
If you want to have quality sleep, it is best that you remove all possible distraction in your bedroom. You may want to keep your bedroom strictly for sleeping – NO TV, laptops, mobile phones or anything that can keep you awake or disrupt your sleep in the middle of the night. Some studies even suggest that electronic gadgets affect your pineal gland, the part of your brain that is responsible in the production of melatonin.
4. Avoid foods that rob you of sleep.
You may want to avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks eight hours before going to bed. Drinking coffee or alcoholic drinks may lead to disruptive sleep. Both these types of drinks are diuretics; you don’t want waking up in the middle of the night just to go to the bathroom to pee.
5. Fix your room – make it more comfortable and a restful place.
Give some time rearranging your room. Remove the unnecessary things like night light or cover your window with curtains to block intrusive lights. You may also want to use earplugs if you can’t avoid the noise outside your apartment. Regulating the temperature inside your room may also help get good night sleep. Also avoid opening the lights when you wake up at night. It further triggers your body to wake up.
