How Nicotine Affects Your Brain and Why You Should Be Worried

Nicotine has an effect on the brain just as it has on the body – though pleasant at first it leads to addiction and as current research shows even worse awaits.

Nicotine is an addictive drug. Once nicotine enters the body, it travels from the lungs and from there to the bloodstream and up to the brain.

This process takes seven to 10 seconds. In the brain a series of chemical reactions occur that allow the smoker to experience a pleasant feeling. However this feeling is temporary and ends within a matter of minutes.

Once the level of nicotine in the blood decreases, the smoker will then revert back to how they felt before and become tense and on edge.

In order to experience the pleasant feelings again the smoker will light another cigarette. This cycle gives rise to nicotine addiction. One cigarette always leads to another and another until it becomes a habitual thing.

Understanding Nicotine Addiction:

To better understand the nature of nicotine addiction, it is important to understand the effect that nicotine has on the brain.

When nicotine enters the body through inhaled cigarette smoke, it finds it’s way into the bloodstream and then to the brain very quickly. This causes the release of a hormone known as adrenaline which is sometimes referred to as the “fight or flight” hormone. What adrenaline does is increases blood pressure and heart rate. It also restricts the amount of blood flow that’s capable of reaching the heart.

An extra amount of glucose is also poured into the blood as a result of this hormone. What this means to a smoker is their heart will feel as if it is racing and they will experience breathing that is rapid  and shallow.

Insulin is also affected by the presence of nicotine in the brain.

Insulin is the hormone that removes excess sugar from the blood. Insulin comes from the pancreas. When nicotine is present it inhibits the release of insulin which causes the smoker to have a higher percentage of sugar in his blood than normal. This health condition is known as hyperglycemia.

Having too much sugar in the blood may explain in part why smokers believe cigarettes quell their hunger. A high level of sugar in the bloodstream suppresses appetite.

The Long-Term Effect on the Brain:

Research studies have shown that nicotine paves the same type of pathways in the brain as does other drugs such as amphetamines or cocaine. However it does so to a lesser extent than do other drugs.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter found in the brain that evokes feelings of enjoyment and overall well-being. Nicotine increases the level of dopamine in the brain. By so doing it brings about pleasurable effects but these effects disappear very quickly. Thus the cycle of needing a nicotine fix begins all over again.

While people who smoke believe it helps their focus and concentration – and in the short term there is some truth to this feeling – in the long term it can kill brain cells and impair their ability to think clearly. Recent research in Europe also concludes that nicotine addiction doubles the risk of getting dementia and Alzheimer – both worrisome subjects to link to cigarette smoking.

Erika Slater, CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis
http://www.freeatlasthypnosis.com
http://www.smoke-free-at-last.com