How to quit smoking? 5 tips that will help you

We are probably all aware of the detrimental effect of smoking on our health. This addiction is the factor that increases the risk of developing cancer the most. The negative impact of cigarettes on our body is often an insufficient motivation to successfully quit the addiction, because temptations are just around the corner. So how to successfully quit smoking? We prepared 5 tips that will help you in this process.

1. Distract yourself

If you feel the urge to reach for a cigarette, wait a while and do something else. Exercise is a good way to act as a long-term distraction. It doesn't have to be a marathon right away, a short run or a longer walk is enough. If you don't have time for such activities or the weather is just bad, try exercising at home. When you feel craving for a cigarette, do a few squats, swing your legs, or stretch your body. Yet another way to distract yourself from addiction is to develop a hobby. This way you will replace a bad habit with something useful.

2. Prepare snacks

This advice sounds quite funny, but keep in mind that cigarette addiction is also a behavioral addiction, one that depends, among other things, on psychological factors. Reaching for a cigarette often becomes a habit and a way to relax in stressful situations. If we want to quit smoking, we should make sure that we always have something with us that can replace reaching for a cigarette. For many people simple chewing gum works perfectly. However, others prefer to eat something sweet, which usually causes weight gain. To avoid it, you should always have a healthy snack in the form of carrots, celery, apples or nuts. The reflex to reach for them will replace the habit of reaching for a cigarette, and by choosing healthy products, you will also provide the body with valuable nutrients.

3. Drink water

Yet another way to suppress the urge to smoke is to keep your fluids in balance. Not only it will prevent you from dehydration, you will also reduce the negative effects of quitting smoking. Drinking water will also help to quickly cleanse the body of toxins that have accumulated in it during the period of smoking. In addition, when you feel like something sweet or caloric, despite not feeling hungry, a glass of water will help you get rid of your cravings.

4. Relax

For many people, smoking is a way to deal with stress. However, it is worth replacing this habit with healthy ones, that will help you cope with stress, without the need to reach for nicotine. One of the most effective relaxation techniques is breathing. In the rush of everyday matters, we forget how important role it plays in our life. After all, it is responsible for supplying oxygen to all cells in our body. Conscious breathing guarantees relaxation, and it also improves blood circulation. The technique of proper breathing involves the use of a diaphragm, which allows optimal amounts of oxygen to be pumped into the lungs. Breathing training can also be combined with meditation, which will additionally help us relieve our mind. Another good idea is yoga which is a great way to combine physical activity with conscious breathing.

5. Avoid temptation

Smoking is an addiction that is often closely related to social situations. Circumstances such as going out to a bar or a party are conducive to reaching for a cigarette. Most often this is done outdoors, so the way to avoid temptation is not to go with your friends to "take some fresh air". "If I smoke only one, nothing bad will happen" – such thoughts often arise in the mind of the person trying to quit smoking. They are the most common cause of relapse. With nicotine addiction, it is very difficult to refuse another cigarette, and it will soon turn out that we have returned to the primal number of cigarettes smoked per day, from before we started the process of quitting. In such situations, we have to show strong will, and if we feel that it is too weak, we always have to use the above-mentioned tricks.

Once you start implementing your decision to quit smoking, you should consider sharing this information with people around you. Thanks to this, you will avoid temptations resulting from serving cigarettes.