insomnia and nicotine

[lavixen]

i am a life-long insomniac and have noticed a great decline in my insomnia since switching to e-cigs. there must be a lot more nicotine (or stimulants) in real cigs b/c i am on the 36mg nic and still sleeping much better since switching.

i just thought i'd post this to see if there are any insomniacs (or others) out there who have any thoughts on this. i'd love to know.

 

[Oakshios]

Interesting. I have the complete opposite reaction.

 

[lavixen]

really? i have heard sometimes the nic. withdrawl process can cause that. i am just wondering now if perhaps it was 50% of my insomnia, seems to be.

perhaps if you didnt have trouble sleeping before, your body is just a bit out of whack for a bit and adjusting.

 

[Oakshios]

I have always been a night owl. Never been diagnosed insomniac, but my mind races for hours when my body says sleep. I tend to stay up with less tiredness for 2-4 hours longer than before.

I've been vaping for about a month and it has been this way since I've started.

 

[Adik Ted]

About 6 years ago I went cold turkey for 6 months and found that, while I couldn't concentrate on my computer work, I could practically fall into a deep sleep almost at will and, despite nodding off regularly during the day, I'd fall asleep almost instantly when I went to bed at night. After about 5 months of this I looked about 10 years younger and felt the best I've ever felt in my life. The thought of a cigarette never left my mind though and I inevitably ended up back on them and back in insomnia city. I originally thought it was all down to stopping smoking but in several future attempts (all using NRT) I was never able to get that good sleep and feeling of well-being back. I've been on the e-cigs for over 2 years now and am no closer to getting it back. I'm now pretty sure it was all down to the total absence of stimulants of any kind (I don't drink tea or coffee). I wish I could use zero nic juice but it just doesn't work for me.

 

[lavixen]

Ive had a similar experience ted. a few times ive gone cold turkey i slept deeper and quicker than i have since i started smoking at age 14. it was stunning. then i went back and had the same experience you did. its not as bad on the e-cig but i didnt get much relief when i was on the gum/patch/etc. either. but it is a lot better for me now on the ecig.

i am going to wean down on the nic, the insomnia nearly killed me. for people like us nicotine is the anti-christ, its a stimulant when we least need one. im going to take my weaning down very slowly but this thread inspired me to try and make it more of a priority. i would have saved my self years of pain, exhaustion, and corresponding losses had i realized this was mostly the nic ingestion all along.

 

[Adik Ted]

lavixen, I vape a lot more than I smoked so I'm probably getting as much, if not more, nicotine as I did with tobacco so it's probably no surprise I don't feel any sleep benefits. A few other things I remember from that cold turkey period - I could drink a lot more without getting drunk (probably because I wasn't getting tired) and hangovers were very mild, my eyes were positively gleaming and my eyesight was better, I felt the cold much less, I had less inflammation, my libido was better, my mood was better (I felt more sociable and tolerant) and even some of my gray hair started growing in black. People who have no sleeping problems will probably never know how lucky they are. You'd think all that would be a big enough incentive to stop vaping or use zero nic but the big con - lack of concentration when working on the computer - is something I don't need at this time.

 

[AJ1]

I can tell you vaping at night will keep me up and I'll have a hard time falling asleep. Thinking of getting lower nic level juices for evening.

 

[Cigarman]

Let me know how that works for you AJ1, if you decide to try that. I'm having the same issue, but i can't seem to put it down!

 

[Adik Ted]

I received this PM from snarkypaws "I didn't sleep for months after starting vaping. Finally, out of desperation, I switched to juice that is just 4mg lower than my usual apprx 2 hrs before I go to bed. Immediately started dropping right off to sleep. I didn't even notice the difference from dropping to 12mg at all."

I ordered a sampler pack from FlavourartUK consisting of 0 mg bitextra. It does give a throat hit but it's too severe and induces coughing (someone on the forum described it as a trachea hit). I then ordered 20 ml 0 mg ecopure to try mixing. I did a half and half mix and that toned the throat hit down quite severely but made it usable without being anything like as pleasing as a nicotine throat hit. The only thing was no matter how much cinnamon flavour I added the flavour didn't dominate. The mix I'm using just now must be around 33% flavouring but it doesn't exactly shine through. Anyway, for the last 4 days I've been vaping the 0 mg exclusively in the 2 hours before bed and I've got to sleep fairly easily and had at least 6 hours before waking. 4 days doesn't make a summer but I'm hopeful this will continue. One thing I noticed was while I missed the throat hit and flavour I didn't seem to have any major craving for nicotine.

 

[Tracy68]

I've always had trouble sleeping but since switching to vaping I am SO tired. I could easily have a nap at around 3 pm every day (and do sometimes) At night I am falling asleep much quicker and sleeping for longer periods. I do have the annoying nocturnal bathroom visits most nights though because of drinking so much water through the day.
I really feel that I am getting a lot less nicotine through vaping than through smoking.

 

[Sellaman]

I wish I could use zero nic juice but it just doesn't work for me.

Well, I hope zero nic juice works for me as I am going to start vaping tomorrow when I get my first e-cig kit.

 

[lavixen]

interesting stuff here. i have not weaned from 36 mg (nor attempted) and sometimes smoke cigs again for a day, and when i do i that am up all night again.

 

[novicecrafter]

I used to smoke a pack of unfiltered camels a day for 7 years. I had sleep issues where I would sleep lightly and often wake up super early and need a smoke. I would go back to bed for an hour or so and sleep poorly and have a really hard time getting up when the alarm goes off. Really affected my school work- I got to the point where I needed to nap as soon as I got home. I could down energy drinks and just get more tired.

I am now using an ecig with 36mg nic juice. Its strange- I seem to sleep as soon as I lay down. Like a log! but with super vivid dreams. When I get woken up its hard to clear my head I feel almost drugged. But when I get up I have a rush of energy. A half cup of coffee makes me bounce off the walls. Kinda bizarre indeed! I always thought it was the nic that affected how much caffeine you can process but maybe it is something else in analogs.

 

[novicecrafter]

I've always had trouble sleeping but since switching to vaping I am SO tired. I could easily have a nap at around 3 pm every day (and do sometimes) At night I am falling asleep much quicker and sleeping for longer periods. I do have the annoying nocturnal bathroom visits most nights though because of drinking so much water through the day.
I really feel that I am getting a lot less nicotine through vaping than through smoking.

Wow does that sound familiar. I forgot to mention the annoying bathroom visits. I wake up and I have to GO and its pretty lame. I do still take naps during the day but it feels different. Kind of like I am hyper then suddenly want a nap instead of being tired all day and just wanting to sleep. I figured it was just my body needing to heal (especially since it feels different).

 

[Sellaman]

interesting stuff here. i have not weaned from 36 mg (nor attempted) and sometimes smoke cigs again for a day, and when i do i that am up all night again.

Try these two Yoga Nidra Relaxation exercises. You can get them off my web site for free. They'll put you to sleep!

 

[FenderMetalheade]

I vape 36 mg and I usually have a good vape before bed. It actually puts me to sleep. I have read somewhere that nicotine in higher doses actually has that effect.

 

[Religion]

Three months in and I'm not sure I understand the effects on my sleeping patterns yet. I have way too many other weird variables in my life right now to do anything remotely resembling a scientific observation.

 

[AlmightyGod]

I've slept like a baby since I started vaping. I used to wake up a lot at night. Now, I fall asleep & don't wake up until morning.

 

[lavixen]

I used to smoke a pack of unfiltered camels a day for 7 years. I had sleep issues where I would sleep lightly and often wake up super early and need a smoke. I would go back to bed for an hour or so and sleep poorly and have a really hard time getting up when the alarm goes off. Really affected my school work- I got to the point where I needed to nap as soon as I got home. I could down energy drinks and just get more tired.

I am now using an ecig with 36mg nic juice. Its strange- I seem to sleep as soon as I lay down. Like a log! but with super vivid dreams.
_____________
i have had both these experiences too with it. i wonder if others have had vivid dreams, cuz that one i have been notiicing a lot and seems to be subsiding.