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The short answer to this question is yes, vaping does affect sleep. Especially for those who have recently made the switch from smoking. It’s a frustrating reality for some vapers, but it’s important to remember that this is only a part of the transition period. It definitely isn’t a permanent feature of your life as a vaper.
The damaging effects of regular cigarettes has been well documented, which is why many smokers are making the switch from smoking to using e-cigarettes instead. They are swapping out harmful tobacco for e-liquid. Smoking is extremely harmful in a variety of ways and can lead to a selection of health issues. This is the main reason why many people make a shift towards getting their nicotine hit from e-cigarettes instead.
However, some of those that do decide to make this switch may notice several changes to their lifestyle. This in turn may affect sleep. But just exactly how does vaping affect sleep and why?
Updated: 20th Jan 2020
Why does vaping affect sleep?
If you are making a switch from cigarettes to vaping it’s very likely you will have selected e-liquids with nicotine. As nicotine is a stimulant it can have a similar effect as caffeine. This can lead to you staring up at the ceiling in the middle of the night wondering why you can’t just drop off.
The nicotine hit you get from e-cigarettes is often more potent than that which you receive from a traditional cigarette. Which is why you’ll find you have an adjustment period even if you’re used to having nicotine in your system.
Stop vaping affecting sleep
It might seem like there’s no solution to your sleepless state, but there’s no need to worry. There are a few things you can do before bed to make sure you stand a chance of dropping off easily. First of all, switch to an e-liquid with a lower nicotine strength than the one you’re currently using. You could even switch to a nicotine free e-liquid as it gets later in the evening. This will help give you a window of time for the nicotine in your body to leave before going to bed. At Totally Wicked we have e-liquids in a range of different nicotine strengths to suit your lifestyle best. You could also try vaping less as it gets later in the day. This is a good option if you’re reluctant to buy new e-liquid.
As well as taking care with your vaping habits and e-liquid choices, taking care to make sure other factors don’t affect your sleep is just as important. Avoiding too much screen time before you go to bed. The blue light emitted from electronic screens tricks your brain into thinking it’s the time to be awake, not for winding down. Other things such as drinking alcohol and caffeinated beverages can have a big effect on your sleeping schedule, as well as external factors, such as stress. However, experiencing some mild sleep disturbance when making the switch from cigarettes to e-cigs is pretty normal, and we would argue that the better health you will experience is worth a few nights of below average rest.
Was your sleep affected when you first started using e-cigarettes? Let us know your experiences in the comments section.
Sleep is a really in-depth and interesting topic. If you want to find out more about sleep in general, I recommend taking a look at sleepadvisor.org. Start by checking out this article: 54 Shocking Sleep Statistics and Trends for 2020.