Day 4 and a question

[nsd_user663_6327]

My question is:- If fags are so bad for us can anyone please tell me why I slept so well during my 3 day blip (and for 2 nights after that too)?

Now its back to normal, of not sleeping well and only for very short periods before waking up to either go to the loo or to cough.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not intending to smoke again, but its just a question that's been troubling me and I wondered if anyone had any answer to it?

At least this time I know I'm very allergic to all NRT and so have not fallen into that trap and therefore feel an awful lot better this second time around just on CT.

Would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts on the above, thanks in advance. Vivienne. xxxx

[nsd_user663_4990]

Your nicotine demon will have been patting your head as you slept those 2-3 nights.. there there.. sleep well, feed me in the morning

Of course you will have slept well, the nicotine demon has his fix, and he stops nagging you at night.. but the following day his foot starts tapping from the early hours.. every hour... on the hour.

You stop smoking, then he starts his mind games trying to make you crack and that includes night time while you are trying to sleep.

Which is why we are all quitting, to get away from that kind of hold and back to a sense of normality.

It happens naturally over time, but you have to keep the no smoking up to really discover it.

[nsd_user663_7673]

Hi Vivienne,

I did go and see if I could find a good explanation for you, but apparently in insomnia research, smokers are four times more likely to suffer sleep disturbance than non-smokers, due to the stimulant effects of nicotine.

However, extreme fatigue and sleep disturbance both get lumped under the heading of nicotine withdrawal as different people experience different symptoms.

With the absence of nicotine we no longer metabolize caffeine at the same rate so coffee, tea, etc has a much more powerful effect and therefore would result in difficulty sleeping.

We didn't have problems sleeping as children before we started, we didn't have problems sleeping for all the years we smoked, so why when we quit?

Possibly due to the huge re-adjustment our bodies have to make, and without having to fight to process all the nasty chemicals perhaps we don't need as much rest and therefore feel generally more alert?

I don't expect any of that's any use, but you did get me thinking!

Jenni

[nsd_user663_6327]

Thank you Jase and Jenni, valid points of view, interesting how much we learn when we have open minds.

Is the sleepless thing more or less the same for everyone then during a quit and if so I wonder how long it lasts? I suppose it will vary from person to person but I think before my blip I was sleeping a bit better after two months.

[nsd_user663_3728]

Hi Vivienne

Well done you on day 4 but so sorry you're not sleepinf again arghhhhhhhhh

Right my 2 pennorth for what it's worth OK

I don't think we need to worry about science or any odfthat I think it's plain and simple

The reason is that suddenly we're getting more oxygen in our blood and therefore to our brains [make sense so far]

We just have to give our bodies time to adjust to this as they will it just takes a time but adjust they will of course

Love and a Hug

Marg xx

[nsd_user663_6327]

Thanks so much Marg, a hug and a kiss back to you, full of good old common sense as always, Marg you are a treasure to us all and we love you. xxxx

Thinking about it, you are right and its just a matter of adjustment, time will settle all the little niggles we have. Thats often a comforting thought to me, whatever is worrying us, to think "will this still matter in 6 months, 12 months or will I even remember it happened?".

I'm trying very, very hard to look on the positive side of things but I can't lie to myself. There were some positive sides to smoking (for me) even though the negative sides to smoking far, far outweight the positive but that cannot get rid of it completely as my brain just wont accept that (to me) lie. Maybe my brain is still addicted but I have no intention of smoking again because I've been too ill to allow that to happen but I still need to keep a sense of proportion and honesty going and I hope that makes sense. xxxx