Stop Smoking Benefits Timeline
I used to hear that every cigarette smoked takes a certain time off your life. The length of time taken depended on who was saying it, sometimes it was "one cigarette takes a day off your life" sometimes it was longer.
I think the reason why the length of time was so inconsistent was because it was simply not true. The human body is a wonderfully sophisticated machine and within three weeks of stopping smoking, 99 percent of the nicotine and poisons that go along with smoking cigarettes have left your body. It's true that the final 1% will never really leave, but that level is so low as to not be a problem, in fact even non-smokers have that much in their bodies too.
To make it clearer for you to understand, here is my "stop smoking benefits timeline", so you can really see how soon the benefits of stopping smoking will be felt.
20 minutes: Nicotine is already leaving the body and the pulse rate and blood pressure will start to fall.
8 hours: The lungs start to clean themselves and nicotine levels in the body will have fallen to around 6% of peak daily levels.
12 hours: blood oxygen and carbon monoxide levels will have returned to normal.
48 hours: Damaged nerves are starting to repair and sense of smell and taste are starting to return. (This is also the time when anxieties and anger levels will peak before returning to normal levels over the next two weeks)
72 hours: The "physical" withdrawal symptoms from smoking will be mostly passed and things such as restlessness and cravings will be largely reduced. The bronchial tubes will be more relaxed and the lungs' breathing capacity will be increased.
5-8 days: The average "craving" episode experienced is down to three per day and each episode only lasts a few minutes.
10 days to 2 weeks: This period the addiction is almost beaten and now just a small background feeling very occasionally. Only one or two times a day will cravings be noticed and the feeling will soon pass.
2 weeks to 3 months: risk of heart attack has significantly dropped. A very important date on the stop smoking benefits timeline. (and probably sooner than expected)
3 weeks to 3 months: Walking is a lot easier, any "smoker's cough" is likely to have disappeared, blood circulation is equal to that of a non smoker.
1 month to 9 months: Body's energy levels are increased, cilia in the lungs start to regrow, reducing chances of infection and colds.
1 year: Chance of coronoray disease, heart attack and strokes have reduced to less than half of that of a smoker. Another significant milestone in the stop smoking benefits timeline (especially as it is 1 year)
5+ years: The risk of developing strokes, cancers, heart disease and all other smoking relating conditions significantly reduces every year.
When I first started to think about stop smoking benefits, timeline was something that really helped me to appreciate the human body and how quickly it will repair. "It's too late for me my body is already in a bad condition" is certainly not an excuse, it's never too late.
If you want to stop smoking, benefits, timeline, and support are all very important, but the most important thing is to just do some research and prepare well.
I hope you found some use in my "stop smoking benefits timeline" and wish you all the best in your attempt to quit.
