We are told that quitting smoking is good for your health and that stopping smoking can make a significant improvement to your well-being and lifestyle in ways you might not expect.

But are you aware just what the benefits of smoking cessation are?  Here are a few health-related and lifestyle related things that happen when you quit smoking.

GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPEN AFTER QUITTING SMOKING

Quitting smoking improves your health and increases your life span

The most important difference you will find after quitting smoking is the improvement in your overall health and well-being.

Your lung capacity naturally diminishes with age.  Within nine months of quitting smoking, a non smoker’s lung capacity can improve by up to 10%.  Having maximum lung capacity in later years can mean the difference between having an active, healthy old age and wheezing when you climb the stairs or go for a walk.

Half of all long-term smokers die early from smoking-related diseases, including heart disease, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.

Men who quit smoking by the age of 30 add 10 years to their life. People who kick the habit at 60 can add three years to their life.

So being  a non smoker not only adds years to your life, but also greatly improves your chances of a happier, active old age.

Quitting smoking makes you feel less stressed

Scientific studies show people’s stress levels are lower after they stop smoking.  Even though it may seem that smoking reduces stress; the reality is that it’s easy to confuse normal stress with nicotine withdrawal as the stress of withdrawal from nicotine can heighten feelings of stress.  However once you have quit smoking your stress levels will reduce significantly.

Quit smoking for younger-looking skin

Smoking affects the appearance of your skin.  Smoking can give you grey hairs, bags under eyes and wrinkles making you look older.  Classic signs of a smoker are lines and wrinkles on the face, especially around the upper lips and corners of the eyes.

The skin of a non-smoker gets more nutrients, including oxygen, quitting smoking has been shown to slow the process of facial ageing and delaying the appearance of wrinkles.

Quit smoking for a better sex life

It is said that non-smokers are three times more appealling to prospective partners than smokers. So as a single person by quitting smoking you will significantly improve your chances of finding a partner.

Stopping smoking improves the body’s blood flow which leads to increased sensitivity. Women who stop smoking may find they become aroused more easily and their orgasms improve. Men who stop smoking may get better erections and improved stamina.

Stopping smoking improves fertility

Did you know that non smokers find it easier to get pregnant?  Well it’s true.

Furthermore stopping smoking increases the chance of giving birth to a healthy baby.  That’s because quitting smoking can make a man’s sperm more potent.  Women find that quitting smoking  improves the lining of the womb, reduces the likelihood of having a miscarriage and increases the chances of conceiving by IVF.

Quitting smoking helps you sleep better

Smokers are four times more likely to have problems sleeping.  As nicotine is a stimulant, your heart’s resting rate is a little faster than that of a non-smoker. If you remove nicotine from your daily intake, you will find yourself more relaxed before bedtime.

Smokers suffer from poor sleep quality which will leave them looking and feeling tired. which can lead to bags under the eyes.

Quit smoking and YOU will smell better

When you smoke, your skin, hair, fingernails and clothes all absorb the smell of cigarette smoke. Non-smokers do not find cigarette smoke particularly pleasant.  By quitting smoking, you will have a more attractive scent to both yourself and others.

Quitting smoking will improve your senses of taste and smell

When you quit smoking your senses of taste and smell improve. Food will taste better and less bland to you as your taste buds recover from the hundreds of toxic chemicals in cigarettes.  Flavours that were too subtle for your dull palate to pick up will become more evident to you.

Your sense of smell will become sharper once the scent of cigarette smoke has gone and you will be able to pick up on subtle scents around you.

Quit smoking improves your breathing

Better breathing is one of the most immediate benefits of quitting smoking. A smokers lung capillaries are constricted, but once you quit smoking your are able to receive more blood and expand to take more air per breath.