Want to know what’s keeping you up when you should be sleeping? It might not be the caffeine after all. Studies find that nicotine disrupts those restful zzzs.

Nicotine is in tobacco products like cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other vaping products like JUUL, smokeless tobacco and all other forms of tobacco including hookah and cigars. If you use one of these products, you may not be sleeping as well as you could for the following reasons:

• Nicotine is a stimulant. Using nicotine within four hours of bedtime disrupts sleep quality and causes you to wake at night.
• Daily smokers have a lot of daytime sleepiness. Studies show that people who smoke often (have their first puff early in the day) sleep for a shorter amount of time, throwing off their sleep patterns.
• Tobacco users are more likely to develop sleep apnea (when muscles collapse in the throat during sleep). Inhaling smoke irritates the tissues in the nose and throat, causing swelling and restricting air flow.
• Your brain can go through symptoms of nicotine withdrawal while you sleep. When this happens, you may wake up feeling even more restless and agitated.

You might be thinking – ‘it sounds like even after I quit, my sleep won’t get better right away?’ It’s true that when quitting tobacco, withdrawal symptoms include restless sleep while your body gets used to functioning without nicotine. BUT there are remedies that can help (see: Nicotine Replacement Therapies) and you’ll be rewarded with a lifetime of sleep that’s not disrupted by nicotine.

Another reason it’s worth pushing through the withdrawal period: studies show that disturbed sleep can lead to depression, weight gain and substance misuse. If you want to choose a path to better sleep, we can help. No matter where you are in the process, we have tips and tools on how to quit and stay quit!