Key Takeaways
- Why does vaping make you tired? It is because of nicotine - a substance contained in vapers' e-liquid.
- Nicotine is an artificial dopamine that kicks off our energy and happiness. However, it also harms our bodies and mental health in the long run.
- To manage vaping-related fatigue effectively caused by nicotine, what should we do? Let's jump in and explore!
1. How Does Nicotine Affect Your Energy Levels?
Why does vaping make me tired? What is the truth? Vaping itself doesn't make you tired. It is actually about nicotine e-liquids inside your device. For more details:
1.1. Short-Term Stimulating Effects Of Nicotine
Nicotine is an addictive substance well-known for a sudden "kick-off" when entering our bodies. It stimulates the adrenal glands and releases adrenaline, bringing happiness. At the same time, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration also rise.
Besides that, it can activate pleasure in our brain's center part. When smoked, the bloodstream and brain quickly absorb nicotine. After that, a buzz of bliss and energy occurs, making us get high and relieving stress.
The current statistics of the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that a typical vaper gets about 200 "hits" of nicotine per day because they enjoy its "happy power." Meanwhile, people who don't inhale vape absorb nicotine more slowly through the mouth's mucous membranes.
Nicotine is a temporary boost of energy and pleasure.
1.2. Long-Term Impact Of Nicotine
Do you wonder why vaping makes me tired? This feeling occurs when the mood buzz fades away. It is more intense for people who are trying to quit smoking and vaping. A study by Sleep Disord about Sleep Duration and the Use of Electronic Cigarettes shows that vaping nicotine harms sleep quality. These issues include
- Insufficient sleep
- Interrupted sleep
- Daytime sleepiness
- Restlessness during sleep
- Nightmares
According to research published in the Journal of Adolescence, nicotine exposure can harm young people's mental health and brain development. Specifically, too much nicotine intake can cause changes in cognitive thinking, attention, and memories.
Nicotine has numerous harmful effects on people's health.
1.3. Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
Quitting nicotine can improve people's mental health. People will feel more happy and have a better mood when completely free from vape. However, they have to experience some uncomfortable symptoms during the quitting process, known as nicotine withdrawal. It includes:
- Irritable feeling
- Restlessness
- Anxious or depressed feeling
- Poor sleep
- Concentrating problems
- Nicotine craving
These symptoms can have harmful effects on the brain and mental health. That's why people often get headaches when quitting vaping.
Nicotine withdrawal is a challenging journey with many uncomfortable symptoms.
2. Does Vaping Make You Tired?
Can vaping make you tired? Vaping itself doesn't make you tired, but the nicotine in e-liquid.
Many people know about nicotine's ability to boost adrenaline. However, they aren't aware of its side effects. It is one of the most common misconceptions about vaping today.
Here are some other myths about vaping that may make you wow:
2.1. Vaping Is Just As Harmful As Smoking
Many studies indicate that vaping is not risk-free, but it is not as harmful as smoking. Compared to vaping, cigarettes release much more chemicals when they burn. Additionally, the smoke from cigarettes contains many toxic elements. It can damage people's health if they smoke more often.
Vaping releases less toxins than smoking.
2.2. Nicotine Is Not An Addiction
In the past, people thought vaping was just a bad habit because it didn't make them drunk or impaired. Today, many medical institutions confirm that nicotine in vape is highly addictive. Accordingly, nicotine dependence involves both physical and mental factors that make it hard to quit vaping, even if you want to.
2.3. Nicotine Helps People Stay Awake And Energized
Can nicotine increase our energy? Definitely yes. It releases a chemical called dopamine in the brain. This simulation can make you feel good temporarily. That's the reason why, after inhaling, people are more awake and energetic.
However, when that feeling fades away, the tiredness comes immediately. If we cannot handle these mood-altering changes over time, we're easy to crave and addicted to nicotine. It's better to vape in control and search for other activities to trigger dopamine besides nicotine.
Nicotine is a double-edged sword.
3. Other Factors Contributing to Vaping-Related Fatigue
Does vaping make you tired? The answer is yes because of nicotine, as we mentioned above. For a more comprehensive view, here are some other side effects of vaping:
3.1. The Impact of Vaping on Sleep Quality
Studies show that nicotine can change our organic sleep cycle, resulting in sleep interruptions and poor sleep quality. Consequently, people get tired and sluggish during the day. For people who already have sleep disorders, e.g., hard to sleep and heavy snoring, using vape can worsen their problems.
3.2. Dehydration and Its Role in Fatigue
Nicotine entering your bloodstream can affect your breathing, blood flow, heart, and nerves. All of these systems help to move fluids around your body. That's why regular vaping can make you thirsty.
Consequently, dehydration can cause vomiting, tiredness, and dizziness. This issue is also one of the reasons for the question, "Why does vaping make me tired?" Here are some tips to stay hydrated while vaping:
- Drink more water while vaping
- Eat more hydrating foods
- Choose e-liquids with a balanced PG/VG ratio
- Adjust your vaping frequency and duration
Vaping will make you more thirsty.
3.3. The Psychological Impact of Vaping
Not only physical issues, but vaping also brings many adverse effects to your mental health, such as situational anxiety, worry, flashbacks, depression, and panic attacks. Many people misunderstand that vaping can help them relieve stress. But actually, nicotine can make users feel more anxious and dependent on nicotine.
Similarly, medical researchers found a decrease in the ability to control emotional control and manage stress among people using vape daily. The stimulation from nicotine makes them easily annoyed and hot-tempered. More badly, they can't control their emotions, especially when their craving is not satisfied.
Vaping has various adverse effects on mental well-being.
4. Tips for Managing Fatigue Caused by Vaping
Does vaping make you tired? Here are some ways to tackle this issue:
4.1. Adjust Your Nicotine Intake
To fight fatigue post-vaping, you should adjust the dose. Especially for those who are new to vaping, start with a small amount of nicotine. In addition, in the evening, you can switch to nicotine-free e-liquid to avoid affecting your sleep quality.
In some instances, it's often advisable to reduce the nicotine amount but increase the vaping frequency. It will give your body more time to adapt to the nicotine effect. Over time, you can level up your tolerance with a higher nicotine dose.
4.2. Prioritize Sleep Hygiene
As we all explore why vaping makes you tired, nicotine is associated with poor sleep. So, you should avoid vaping before bedtime. To deal with late-night nicotine cravings, you can try chewing on dried vegetables or plant-based snacks. Also, you can consider skipping some late-night social activities and events to avoid tobacco consumption.
4.3. Stay Hydrated
Vaping can dry our bodies, causing tiredness and headaches after puffing. What's more? Dehydration also contributes to sleep disruption, dry mouth, and appetite loss. You should drink more water and consume more fruit-based juices to avoid these symptoms.
Drink more water to avoid dehydration caused by vaping.
4.4. Consider Nicotine Replacement Therapy
If you suffer from severe sleep disorders, you may need alternatives to current vaping devices. Like, you can choose products that are free of tobacco, nicotine, and other harmful substances. For example:
- Nicotine-free e-liquid
- Nicotine patches
- Chewing gum
Or, you can distract yourself with some physical activities when the nicotine cravings come. Take a walk, listen to your favorite songs and dance. It all works in this situation.
4.5. Seek Professional Help if Necessary
So, you're using low-nicotine e-liquid and vaping less often. But why does vaping still make me tired? If so, you should set an appointment with your doctor or medical consultant. They will find out the correct diagnosis of your problem. Plus, they also prescribe medicines to decrease nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
Consult with professionals to take prompt actions when needed.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
5.1. Can switching to vaping reduce fatigue compared to smoking?
Does vaping make you tired? Yes (But because of nicotine!) Does smoking make you tired? Absolutely yes!
However, e-cigarettes contain fewer harmful toxins than traditional cigarettes. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking. Therefore, vaping generates less intense fatigue effects than smoking.
5.2. Will quitting vaping immediately improve my energy levels?
Quitting vaping brings various health benefits to people and also energy levels. However, it will show off later. If you go with persistence and effort, your heart rate and blood pressure will return to normal, helping your body start to feel less stressed.
5.3. Can vaping cause long-term fatigue?
Nicotine can cause long-term fatigue and harm your mental health. It can make you feel tired, stressed, and anxious. It also limits your ability to concentrate, learn, and study. If you are addicted to nicotine, it can cause many mental health issues like depression and anxiety.