Expert Tips

Some final hints to bring your way of becoming a non-smoker to a close and to avoid that you carelessly jeopardize with your newly attained quality of life:

•    Always be aware of two points:
(1)    You will always remain a smoker – just one, who isn’t smoking any more.
(2)    With a probability of 99 %, every single cigarette will lead to a relapse, even after months or years. Don’t just think that one single cigarette can’t do any harm – exactly this one will lead to a relapse!

•    Always focus on the actual situation or actual day. Avoid difficult to manage “thought experiments” for a longer period like weeks or months.

•    Adjust yourself to withdrawal symptoms that will last a couple of days. Always remind yourself that these are a positive sign of the tobacco- and nicotine-withdrawal. Normally withdrawal symptoms clearly improve after the first 2-3 days and completely disappear after a couple of weeks. Every day counts!

•    It is especially important to pass the first couple of smoke-free days in good condition, without any faux pas and relapse.

•    Avoid beverages you normally would smoke a cigarette to. If you used to drink a cup of coffee or alcohol with a cigarette – change to fruit- or herbal-tea.

•    Almost 100 % of all relapses happen under the influence of alcohol, drunken in company of smokers. Out of this reason, avoid alcohol for the first two weeks. It is advisable, to rather avoid hot food during this period, as well.

•    Care for a lot of exercise: bicycling, Nordic-Walking, jogging etc. help to reduce stress and prevent weight increase.

•    Especially in the beginning, temporarily avoid the company of smokers. They might endanger your endurance.

•    In case smokers are present, declare yourself as being a non-smoker. If you don’t know the persons don’t mention that you just stopped smoking. Some people seem to think it is funny to tempt former smokers.

•    When you are really longing for a cigarette, repeat to yourself that
a)    you absolutely wanted to stop smoking and
b)    that this desire will pass.
Focus on other nice things and try to relax (with the “breathing pattern”, for example)

•    Calculate, how much money you spent on smoking per year. Take the same amount and fulfill yourself a wish (holiday, journey, wellness etc.). Put your “cigarette-money” aside and realize these things!

•    Celebrate your “non-smoking-anniversaries”: reward yourself after one week without cigarettes. Start with small intervals (days, weeks, months) which you are going to extend, by and by.

•    Be proud of yourself and praise yourself for every smoke-free day!

Some last hints
When you are combining your smoke-stop with a sleep-healthy-optimization (metal-free sleeping system, disturbance-free sleep surrounding, harmonious bedroom climate) and invest your “cigarette-money” in healthy sleep you will be able to enjoy your sleep in the beginning and transition-period of becoming a non-smoker, as well. When you are complying to the variable, elementary preconditions of a healthy sleep like healthy exercise, balanced nutrition, sufficient day- and sun-light, breaks and relaxation etc. you will be able to enjoy the healing powers of healthy sleep your whole life long.

In case you really don’t succeed, discuss it with your doctor, alternative practitioner, therapist or pharmacist. Attend a non-smoker class, visit a hypnotherapist, acupuncturist or someone who offers a method you can identify yourself with.

Imagesource: @SAMINA

You have mastered the most important hurdle: you have decided to quit smoking! Possibly you already have set resp. reached your quit-smoking-day.

Here some hints to avoid that a lack of habits leads you astray:
•    You certainly remember the special “breathing pattern” of a smoker which leads to a certain easing. There is a simple supporting trick: when longing for a cigarette or in situations you were smoking in earlier days, simply hold two fingers of your “smokers-hand” just as like you would bring a cigarette to your mouth and inhale exactly like you did when smoking. Keep the air in your lungs for a couple of seconds and exhale, just like you would blow out the smoke. This simple trick supports you in getting the usual relaxation without smoking.

•    Every day, an average smoker brings his hand 200 to 300 times to his mouth holding a burning cigarette. These constant repetitions lead to a conditioned reflex that stays in the beginning, even when you quit smoking. And exactly this reflex is the reason why instead of a cigarette other things “wander” in the direction of the mouth: chips, pretzel sticks, chocolate etc. And this proves the fear, that quitting will lead to a couple of more kilos. Use this conditioned reflex for your health and change these candies with healthy snacks. Drink a glass of water or a smoothie more often, nibble some unsalted and unroasted almonds or nuts. Dried apples are perfect, too, they regenerate your taste-buds and inhibit your desire for a cigarette.

•    When you are having the sense of “empty hands” because you no longer are moving with your hands to your mouth some hundreds time a day – get yourself some nice marbles to occupy your hands.

•    Keep some sugar-free chewing gums and candies ready – there is no room for a cigarette in a full mouth. Prepare yourself a nice plate of raw fruit and vegetables (but not too late in the evening, this would interfere with your sleep!).

•    Body grounding by walking barefoot in damp grass, on a damp forest floor, on the beach or on the course of a river is very helpful. Do a lot of swimming. It is also possible to ground by letting run cold water over your hands and lower arms for about 12 minutes. Also, the large scale body grounding during sleep (Lokosana^®) has proven to be successful. Body grounding calms your vegetative nervous system.

•    Care for a healthy sleep. During sleep your organism detoxifies, reward yourself with a SAMINA pillow, for example!

•    Help your body to quickly purify from the accumulated toxic substances. Here, especially chlorella in the form of capsules is suitable. It has a unique composition which includes all essential amino-acids, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, plenty of valuable vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The green chlorella contains particularly much chlorophyll, about 4 times as much as spirulina. In the intestine, this alga merges with the pollutants like an absorbent sponge. It coalesces a stable connection with these pollutants and you can get rid of these toxins with your digestion. The “montmorillonite-betonite-detoxification” is effective as well, try and google!

•    Balance out your vitamin deficit caused by smoking. Especially vitamins C and E are missing. Ask your doctor or pharmacist.

•    Additionally, you should support your nervous system. Here, especially omega-3 fatty acids like for example krill oil are useful. Since during smoke cessation the nervous system has to completely rearrange and regenerate itself, the need for omega-3 fatty acids in the brain is especially high. Vitamin B3 is also very helpful for your brain metabolism, it has mood-lifting characteristics since it helps to stimulate production of serotonin.

•    After about 8 – 10 weeks your organism and your metabolism have completely changed and accepted the quit. Normally, all complaints of a smoker like dry cough, shortness of breath etc. have improved massively. Your skin is better supplied with blood and you are strikingly looking fresher and more vital. By then, your body sensation will have changed, too, since every tissue in your organism will benefit from the good nutrient supply as well as the enhanced amount of oxygen in the blood. Your vital energy increases, your head becomes clear and your psyche brightens. Best thing you can do is to enjoy these things!

My advices for persistence will further encourage you on your way.

Imagesource: @deathtothestockphoto

You are suffering under fall asleep disturbances? Observe your evening eating habits. A friendly get-together with friends and family or “switching off” in front of the TV – here, the temptation for snacks is especially big. But still, you should think about what you are consuming. Eating too late in the evening disturbs sleeping at any case, but the following products have an especially big impact on sleep:

It’s the choice that matters
The sleeping hormone melatonin regulates the sleep-wake-cycle of the human being. For sure, serotonin- and tryptophan-containing food is the better alternative to crudités, French fries, salami, chocolate or coffee. But, you’d better avoid valuable food like Chia seeds as well: they are real energy suppliers and therefore it is better to eat them in the morning than in the evening.

Eaten too late, indigestive crudité is able to diminish your sleeping quality. Eat bananas instead: bananas are full of sleep enhancing tryptophan (an amino-acid which leads to production of melatonin), magnesium and potassium.

French fries, chips and baked mushrooms are heavy on the stomach and therefore a bad choice before going to sleep. Fatty and fried food is not only fattening, the energy needed for digestion may also lead to disturbances in your sleep-rhythm. Carbohydrates from noodles, wholemeal rice or potatoes clearly are the better choice. Combined with exercise in fresh air you are increasing the production of the happy hormone serotonin, which is a precursor of melatonin.

The perfect complement for this is tryptophan-containing food like chicken, tuna, walnuts or cashew-nuts.

Did you know that chocolate is containing caffeine? The darker the chocolate, the more of this stimulant it is containing. Out of this reason, the same applies as for caffeine: don’t eat this sweet treat later than early afternoon, later it might interfere with your wish to fall asleep. Before going to sleep you’d better have some melatonin-containing things like walnuts, almonds or cherries. Or an (unsweetened) cacao.

You want to trick your sleeping problems with decaffeinated coffee? Unfortunately this is not working. As investigations revealed, practically all decaffeinated coffees contain a rest of caffeine. Ayurvedic teas with a soothing effect will bring relaxation and calm.

Last but not least, a remedy from the old days: a cup of warm milk with a spoon of honey!

Image Source: ©fotolia