Improvement in physical fitness
Countering weight gain
Reduced risk of smoking-related diseases
Stress management
Smoking and sports simply do not mix. Smoking decreases your ability to perform vigorous exercise because of increased levels of carbon monoxide in the body, decreased lung function and a drop in the ability to use oxygen.
Carbon monoxide is present in large amounts in cigarette smoke and rapidly enters the blood, combining with haemoglobin in the red blood cells. The role of hemoglobin is to transport oxygen to the muscles and cells of the body. When carbon monoxide is present, about five percent of the hemoglobin is “taken over” for about five hours, decreasing the ability to deliver oxygen. This will make physical activity harder than normal.
At rest, nicotine increases the heart rate and blood pressure, decreases cardiac output (amount of blood pumped by the heart), and increases the oxygen demand of the heart muscle. During exercise, nicotine also increases levels of blood lactate, a substance that can make people feel fatigued.
Resistance to air flow in the airways is increased, both during and after smoking, making it more difficult to deliver air and oxygen to the lungs during hard exercise.
But smokers should still exercise. Especially as exercising could motivate you to quit, and you’ll also get these benefits:
Smokers typically have poor levels of fitness, and starting a regular exercise program will improve heart and lung function, as well as increasing muscular strength and endurance.
Burning calories in a regular exercise program can help you avoid the dreaded post-smoking tendency to gain weight.
A regular exercise program can decrease the risk of developing certain conditions, including heart disease and some cancers.
Many people use smoking to cope with stress and find the habit quite relaxing. Within two hours of quitting smoking, typical feelings of nicotine withdrawal include irritability, frustration, impatience, restlessness, depression, mood swings, difficulty in concentrating and disrupted sleep. These feelings peak within the first 24 hours and then gradually decline, usually subsiding after about four weeks.
Regular exercise acts as an excellent substitute for smoking by improving psychological mood state and alleviating anxiety and depression.
If you can’t or don’t want to quit, regular exercise is still a way to help reduce your risk of heart disease and early death. Smokers who maintain a high level of physical fitness have lower death rates from all causes than do unfit non-smokers. The lowest death rates, however, are found among people who avoid smoking altogether and maintain moderate to high physical fitness levels.
The major cause of death in smokers is coronary heart disease, with rates for heavy smokers about three times greater than in non-smokers. Smokers with high blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels have coronary heart disease death rates that are about 20 times greater than non-smokers with normal blood pressure and cholesterol.
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