Breaking the Habit of Nicotine Addiction

Nicotine addiction is unhealthy dependence to nicotine that is normally found in tobacco products. Nicotine is described as a colorless and toxic alkaloid that contains a combination of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon. Tobacco products like pipe tobacco, cigarettes and cigars all contain nicotine. 

Nicotine is a substance that may produce some physical and mood altering changes in the brain of a smoker. A smoker may take pleasure in the temporary physical and mood changes thus resulting to continuous smoking. Continuous smoking may lead to nicotine dependence thus making a smoker to break the habit of smoking.

What are the Symptoms of Nicotine Addiction?

Anyone who uses any type of tobacco products is susceptible in developing nicotine addiction. Some symptoms of nicotine addiction include:

• Habitual smoking is one common symptom of nicotine addiction. Any one who tries to stop smoking but instead of stopping have continue and even increase the number of times they smoke are may be on the onset of developing nicotine dependency. 

• Individuals who continue to smoke despite suffering from health problems like heart or lung ailments.

• Work and personal relation is affected since they spend more time smoking than doing their work or being with their families. 

• Those people who exhibit withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop smoking. Some  of the withdrawal symptoms are: 

• Anxiety 
• Mood changes
• Lack of focus 
• Anger 
• Inability to sleep 
• Increase of appetite
• May develop food cravings 

Complications of Nicotine Addiction

Nicotine addiction is often seen in these activities. However, if an individual want to stop nicotine dependence, these habits and activities should be properly dealt with to avoid serious complications later on.  
Like any type of addiction, smoking is very bad for the body. It carries complications, which will definitely harm the body. Some of the complications that are related to smoking are:

• Lung problems like emphysema and lung cancer is cause by smoking. It can also worsen your asthma attacks if you do not stop smoking.

• Smoking can also result in impotence and infertility. 

• A cardiovascular problem like stroke is also linked to smoking. It can also worsen any existing heart ailments. 

• Smoking during pregnancy is very harmful to the unborn baby. It may result to miscarriage, low birth weight or learning disability to the child later on. 

• It increases the susceptibility of developing diabetes because smoking increases the resistance of insulin. 

• Secondhand smoking is bad to your family especially to children as it lowers their immune system and makes them at risk of developing respiratory problems. 

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How to Keep Your Brain Sharp?

As you get older, you will soon notice that you start to slow down and this may also affect your ability to think. You may no longer be able to solve math problems as fast as you would when you are younger or your comprehension skills may even lag sometimes.

You may also observe that you became more and more forgetful. From as simple as forgetting where you put your car keys to more important things like returning calls to your clients. At first, these may mean nothing to you but if these things become a regular occurrence, then, it is now 
time that you find ways to keep your brain sharper.

Here are some simple things that can keep your brain sharp. Some of these ways may include:

1. Increase your Intake of Veggies

Vegetables like tomato and carrots are great in boosting your brain functions. Eating more of tomato and carrots regularly can definitely make your brain sharper and even more alert.
Veggies, which also contain vitamin E, B6 and folic acid, can also protect your brain against cell damage. To make sure that you get the best out of veggies, it will be better if you eat fresh veggies instead of frozen ones.

2. Engage in Exercises

Aside from keeping you fit, exercises can also boost neurogenesis or the process of generating new brain cells. So, next time rev that exercise since it can boost your physical body as well as your mental health.

3. Drink Red Wine

If you are drinking, it will be better if you drink red wine instead of white wine. Red wine has resveratrol, which according to recent studies can prevent plaque buildup. Plaque buildup is often related to Alzheimer’s disease. The buildup is also responsible for breaking down the transmission between neurons.

4. Try to Learn New Things

As you get older, often you lose the interest to learn new things. You always do the same things out of routine but if you want to keep your brain sharp, you have to learn something new. It is not too late to learn new musical instrument or perhaps take a new hobby.

Trying new things can revitalize not just your brain but it can definitely boost your self-esteem.

5. Wear Protective Gear

Brain is like a hard-boiled egg. It needs protection because one wrong move or bruising in your brain can affect your ability to remember. So, next time that you take part in extreme sports, make sure that you are well protected because you may not know that one wrong blow can alter your memory.

As a whole, keeping your memory sharp is not hard, you just need to remember that brain like the rest part of the body, also needs to be nourished and protected.

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