Quit Smoking with Exercise

Are nicotine patches or nicotine gums not cutting it? Try exercising to curb your nicotine cravings. Research shows that you can improve your health by exercising regularly and you could quit smoking as well.

Smoking causes all kinds of problems and can eventually lead to lung cancer. Researchers have found that women who exercise are able to fight their smoking cravings for short periods of time.

Exercise more frequently to reduce smoking cravings.

David Williams from Brown University researched different studies over 8 weeks and found that moderate exercise can help control cravings but only for the short-term. Williams and colleagues then performed a pilot study with 60 female participants who all smoke.

Half of the women were assigned to walk on treadmills for 50 minutes three times a week, while the other half watched 30 minute health and wellness videos three times a week.

The researchers found that women in the exercise group were more likely to have better moods and decreased cigarette cravings after exercising, but those feelings went away quickly.

More research needs to be done to determine how often exercising needs to take place in order for the cravings to subside. A larger randomized control trial is underway where electronic devices will be able to record cravings and moods more frequently.

There will be more data and a better sense of how long the effects could last.