Coffee Break April: Spring Clean your body and Stop and Smell the Roses!

Published at 02 April, 2024.

Spring is here and as the better weather approaches, we can start to get out and about more, may be walking, cycling, or running if that is you’re thing. You don`t have to be a marathon runner or power walker to benefit from some fresh and smoke free air! If you are out and about today wouldn`t it be lovely to smell the flowers along the way?

Each time you light up and smoke a cigarette you inhale thousands of chemicals and toxins. From the day you stop smoking these chemicals start to clear from your system and your body will start repairing and healing. Your energy levels rise as the blood circulation to your heart and muscles increases, making your walk more pleasurable, and you may be able to walk for longer.  Breathing becomes easier as your lung function improves. Your sense of smell increases and those flowers smell so much sweeter!

As your body gets more oxygen, including your skin now you have stopped smoking you’ll look and feel brighter and more energised. Walking increases the oxygen flow and helps increase blood oxygen levels. Combined with stopping smoking, increased exercise can help boost your physical and mental health. Walking increases the levels of hormones which help your energy levels too.

It is a common belief that smoking helps you relax and destress. Smoking increases tension and anxiety as it interferes with chemicals in the brain. When you smoke and have not had a cigarette for a while you feel anxious and irritable, and these feelings are temporarily relieved by smoking again. This feeling does not last and soon you are wanting another cigarette. Smoking in the first place is likely to cause the feelings of anxiety and stress.

Stopping smoking and connecting with nature helps promote good mental health, reduces stress, and gives our immune systems a boost.  When people stop smoking studies have shown that depression, anxiety, and stress levels are lowered, and positivity and mood improve. Stop smoking today with the help of Yorkshire Smoke Free, and if you are out and about, stop and smell the roses!