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Why quitQuitting is a journey and, with the right plan and support, you can achieve your goal.
How to quitQuitting can take practice. Keep up your quitting journey to break free from smoking or vaping for good.
Staying quitTalking to someone about quitting can be challenging, but with the right information you can help them take positive action for their wellbeing.
Helping othersSpeak directly with a trained quit counsellor. Our team are available to provide confidential and free support, a quit plan tailored just for you, and answer all your questions.
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Last updated October 2024
Read time 4 minutes
But what is less known is that smoking and vaping can reduce both how much you sleep and the quality of the sleep you get, harming your health.
Recent studies2 show that people who smoke are nearly 50 per cent3 more likely to have sleep problems than people who don’t smoke.
Smoking even a few cigarettes a day4 means consuming nicotine and other harmful chemicals that cause significant physical effects that harm your sleep.2 These include increasing sleep apnoea5— the abrupt stopping of breathing whilst sleeping — lowering your oxygen levels.5 The nicotine withdrawal also keeps you in only light sleep.
If you smoke, you are likely to:
Sleep fewer hours.
Be less likely to fall into the deep, ‘restorative’ sleep that helps your body regain its energy.
The risk of these problems increases the more you smoke.
New research shows that vaping also causes many of these same problems. In a recent study, teenagers who vaped were 1.33 times more likely to not get enough sleep.9
Nicotine withdrawal when you are trying to sleep can create a sleep-debt spiral by keeping you awake. This can mean you feel tired, which can make you want to vape more, worsening the problem.
The good news is you’ll sleep better if you quit. When you quit smoking or vaping, you're no longer inhaling the nicotine and other toxic chemicals in the smoke and aerosol that can cause these sleep problems.
Quitting can feel challenging, but Quit is here to help you.
Quitline counsellors can offer you free advice and support to help you stop smoking or vaping. They can help you build and keep up your motivation, create a plan that works for you, and guide and encourage you along the way. Quitline counsellors can also support you if you are using vapes to stop smoking.
There are multiple ways to contact Quitline, including by phone on 13 7848, the online request a callback form, webchat, WhatsApp and more. Hit the button below for more detail:
My QuitBuddy is an app that helps people get, and stay, smoke-free and vape-free. It provides helpful tips and distractions to overcome cravings and tracking systems to chart progress. My QuitBuddy gives the facts people need to understand the impacts smoking and vaping have on someone's health.
1. Worley SL. The extraordinary importance of sleep: the detrimental effects of inadequate sleep on health and public safety drive an explosion of sleep research. Pharmacy and Therapeutics. 2018 Dec;43(12):758.
2. Di Luch S, Haider S, Pigott M, Sladen-Dew C, Watson M, James M, Oleschuk C, Vincent S, Kaufmann M, Domnik N. Does Vaping Impact Cardiovascular and Sleep Parameters in Young Adults? Inquiry@ Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings 2024 Jun 25 (Vol. 18). Avail: https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/inquiryatqueens/article/view/17421
3. Amiri S, Behnezhad S. Smoking and risk of sleep-related issues: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2020 Oct;111:775-86.
4. Otsuka Y, Takeshima O, Itani O, Matsumoto Y, Kaneita Y. Associations among alcohol drinking, smoking, and nonrestorative sleep: A population-based study in Japan. Clocks & Sleep. 2022 Oct 24;4(4):595-606.
5. Jaehne A, Unbehaun T, Feige B, Lutz UC, Batra A, Riemann D. How smoking affects sleep: a polysomnographical analysis. Sleep medicine. 2012 Dec 1;13(10):1286-92.
6. Zhang L, Samet J, Caffo B, Punjabi NM. Cigarette smoking and nocturnal sleep architecture. American journal of epidemiology. 2006 Sep 15;164(6):529-37.
7. Hasan A, Uzma N, Swamy TL, Shoba A, Kumar BS. Correlation of clinical profiles with obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome. Sleep and breathing. 2012 Mar;16:111-6.
8. Sun H, Li S. Exploring the relationship between smoking and poor sleep quality: a cross-sectional study using NHANES. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2024 May 28;15:1407741.
9. Baiden P, Spoor SP, Nicholas JK, Brown FA, LaBrenz CA, Spadola C. Association between use of electronic vaping products and insufficient sleep among adolescents: Findings from the 2017 and 2019 YRBS. Sleep Medicine. 2023 Jan 1;101:19-27.
Speak directly with a trained quit specialist. Our counsellors are available to provide immediate support, personalised quit plans, and answer all your questions.
Get in contact with Quit
You'll sleep better if you quit.
