Dated benefits

Hey readers,

Hope you're all well. I've had some comments about my last post, so thought I'd follow it up with another post about the benefits of not smoking. I did a bit of online research about the subject, and the general concensus is that the following will occur once you quit (from the second you have your last cigeratte):

After 20 minutes:
Your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.

After 8 hours:
Your carbon monoxide and nicotine levels in your blood are halved, with oxygen levels returning to normal.

After 24 hours:
Your lungs start to clear out mucous and other debri derived from smoking, in addition to carbon monoxide being elimated from your body.

After 48 hours:
Your ability to taste and smell will improve, with no nicotine left in your body.

After 72 hours:
Your breathing becomes a lot easier and your energy levels increase.

2-12 weeks:
Your circulation improves; a major health benefit.

3-9 months:
Your lung functions increase by up to 10%; wheezing, breathing and coughing problems improve as a result.

5 years:
Your risk of a heart attack falls to around half that of a smoker.

10 years:
Your risk of lung cancer falls to around half that of a smoker, with the risk of a heart attack falling to the same as someone who has never smoked.


So there you go - a timeline of what to expect when not smoking anymore. At the moment, being at 2-12 weeks, I'm benefiting from an improvement in my circulation. I'm looking forward to my breathing problems improving over the next month, as, when smoking, I used to find it quite difficult to breath at nights.