Meditation practices keep smokers from finishing their cigarettes

Meditation makes you smoke less, moreover, even for smokers who are not going to quit: smokers simply stop finishing their cigarettes to the filter.

Meditation helps a smoker kick the bad habit, even if he wasn't planning on quitting. Five hours spent on a mindfulness couch for two weeks allowed volunteers to quietly reduce their cigarette smoking by 60%. This is evidenced by studies conducted by American scientists, the results of which they published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Non-smokers live an average of 14 years longer than smokers. At the same time, the risk of premature death from any cause is twice as high among smokers as in the general population.

The participants of the study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, California, were asked to sit in a room full of silence and observe their thoughts. They were instructed to pay attention to breathing, to concentrate on their mental state. Volunteers sat like this for five hours a day, twice a day, for a two-week period. After that time, their breathing became quieter, which allowed them to get rid of the physical addiction. This does not mean, however, that they stopped smoking. But when their habit was reduced to about half of its previous amount, these people stopped their further attempts to complete a cigarette, and this led to the situation where even small puffs are enough to produce a strong reaction. The conclusion drawn by the authors of the study is that meditation causes long-term reduction in the need to constantly inhale. They say that regular meditation may help people live longer and better, reducing the damage to the body. The volunteers of the study stopped their smoking habit as the result of "naturally" reduced inhalation of nicotine. As a result, the participants were able to significantly reduce the number of cigarettes smoked - from an average of 20 to half a cigarette per day. They also noticed a reduction in the number of physical ailments, such as cancer and heart disease.

The researchers point out that smoking cessation not only reduces the risk of smoking, but also reduces the risk of non-smoking people from lung disease, respiratory diseases and heart disease. However, it is important to remember that regular meditation reduces smoking, but does not help people to quit smoking forever. The fact is that smokers who have not yet been initiated in meditation can quit smoking in a week, and in six months, the need for breathing out will go down to a single puff per week. This effect comes from the increased ability to deal with any situation, rather than from meditation itself. But if you start regular meditation, you may be surprised at how much time you are saved by not thinking about the need to smoke.

The main drawback is that at first you will have to quit smoking for a longer time than you are used to. It is still better than becoming addicted to smoking!