New study suggests vaping worsens sleep quality
A number of our members receive appointment requests from people looking to quit vaping as a habit. There’s actually been quite a lot in the news about vaping over the past few weeks.
The Daily Mail reported, on Wednesday 20 March 2024, that researchers at University College London and the University of Innsbruck have found growing evidence that ‘long term usage of the devices can cause significant damage.’
The article reported that the habit may trigger changes in cells which are often seen in smokers and that those alterations may lead to cancer. The piece goes on to say that vaping might not be ‘as harmless as previously thought.’
Meanwhile, this month also found researchers at The University of Surrey saying that the habit can have a significant impact on sleep quality and anxiety levels among young people.
The researchers investigated the relationship between vaping, sleep quality and mental health of young adults aged 18-25 years.
‘It is now common to see a young person vaping,’ says Dr Simon Evans, Lecturer in Neuroscience at The University of Surrey. ‘The emergence of vape shops makes these products more readily available and increases the temptation to purchase them.’
‘What is worrying is that many are unaware of or simply downplay the dangers of such products, believing that something that tastes ‘fruity’ could not be harmful.’
‘This is not the case as the nicotine contained in the products is known to negatively affect brain development and may induce behaviours that increase the risk of developing substance abuse issues.’
Researchers examined how mindfulness can reduce the chances of a young person taking up the habit. They found that vape users had significantly lower levels of mindfulness and higher levels of rumination than their non-user peers.
The team say their results suggest higher levels of mindfulness might help protect young people from taking up vaping. They add participants who experienced higher levels of rumination could be vaping as a means to self-medicate against distress.
Their work also found that the sleep quality of vape users was significantly lower than that of their non-vaping peers, with more than three-quarters displaying symptoms of insomnia.
Stimulative properties of nicotine could result in poor sleep patterns
Researchers believe the stimulative properties of nicotine could result in poor sleep patterns. The study results suggest that sleep deprivation could increase vape use as a way to compensate for lethargy during the day.
Vape use amongst young people has risen drastically over the last decade and experts say that not enough is known about its effects.
Researchers surveyed more than 300 participants and found that anxiety levels were higher for vape users. The study was published in the journal Healthcare.
When working with people looking to quit the vaping habit then it’s quite right for us to focus on the positive health and financial benefits which the client will start to enjoy as soon as they leave the practice room.
Contributors welcomed!
Do you have something positive you would like to share with us? Perhaps you have a particular approach to stop smoking sessions – or something which you feel really works in your practice?
In short, we’re looking for members to get in touch with us to share their stories. Perhaps there was a particular reason which led you to your new career and it’s something you would like to write about. If that’s you then let us know!
Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. As such, it’ll be great to read about your journey and what led you to do the work you now do (for me, it was a successful stop smoking session which set me on my way to re-training).
It goes without saying that we’re not looking for any stories which refer to any client sessions as confidentiality is a key component of everything we do as practitioners.
The sorts of things we are looking to include in a future newsletter would be areas around how you manage your business.
Perhaps you have a specific way to unwind at the end of a long day and you may feel it would be useful to share your thoughts with a wider audience.
Or maybe you’ve found a true ‘ying’ and ‘yang’ approach to organising your practice, or practice room, which helps to engender a relaxing atmosphere for your clients.
It could be you’ve read a particularly good book on psychotherapy and you’d like to share your thoughts on it. In which case, please email us (the address is below).
We hope you have a pleasant Easter and look forward to sharing more Hypnotherapy news with you in April.
