How can a dose of exercise help you quit smoking?

Smoking, an evil that people resort to for coping with stress and tension. It comes with addiction so toxic that despite warnings of potentially fatal outcomes people find it hard to quit. According to a CDC (Centre for Disease Control) fact sheet, more than 16 millio
Americans live with smoking-related diseases. And, 1 in 5 deaths occurring in the USA is due to smoking. That is an alarming number! But, worry not if you are trying to quit. This thought is a healthy beginning in itself. Mere regular exercising can help you quit smoking!

Let us see how a dose of exercise can help you quit smoking for a healthy tomorrow.

Start moving your muscles.

It is a well know fact that exercising increases endorphins, the hormones responsible for your delightful mood and happiness. While you kill your brain cells every time you smoke, an hour of exercise can relieve your stress and boost the level of endorphins. You will be able to think clearly, spool up the motivation and won’t crave for cigarettes for the next few hours.
10 Minutes is all you need!

Studies show that exercising for thrice a day with 10 minutes sessions has same effect as exercising continuously for 30 minutes. That means, you do not have to ‘make time’ or ‘reschedule’ your daily proceeding in order to keep smoking at bay. A small run, yoga session or mild weight training for a mere 10 minutes is enough. Not only you will feel better, but also your stamina will increase and urge to smoke will fade away!

Small dose, multiple benefits

Apart from strengthening your heart and lungs damaged by smoking, exercising comes with many other benefits that help people quit cigarettes. Exercising;

*Helps you cope well with the nicotine withdrawal symptoms soon after you quit cigarettes. Simple aerobic exercises everyday elevate your mood and keeps grouchiness, anger, frustration, and depression away. You won’t relapse if you continue to jog, swim, walk, etc.
*Controls appetite. The more optimized your appetite becomes, the less you crave to puff on a cigarette.
*Enables you to cope with stress very well. Your professional or personal life might sometimes throw in the winds of stress load. And that is why people start smoking. Exercising will keep this in check.
*Helps you stay away from the thought of using a cigarette. Apart from boosting your health, simple aerobic exercises get you in the goal-oriented mindset and make you more productive!

Deciding to say no to smoking is the first step. To act upon this resolution, you must get recharged and start exercising. It can be anything from jogging, dance or yoga to cycling & swimming. A small daily dose of physical activity will help you keep the cigarettes at bay by elevating your mood, turbocharging your health and preventing you from relapsing back to the smoking habit!