Running can help you to quit smoking

Exercising has a protective effect against nicotine dependence and withdrawal.

Quitting smoking is an easy road to sail through. The difficult part about smoking is the withdrawal symptoms a person experiences after few days of stopping smoking. And this is the reason, why most often than not, smokers who have quit tend to give in and start smoking. Irrespective of the trials and tribulations a person has to go through, there are numerous reasons why a person must quit smoking. And to add to that, a recent study has revealed another reason on how to kick the butt.

According to the study, you should quit smoking and start running instead. New research in mice sheds light on the mechanism underlining exercise's protective effect against nicotine dependence and withdrawal. The study reveals that exercise during nicotine exposure markedly reduces the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, an effect that is accompanied by increased activation of a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (which are targets of nicotine) in the hippocampal region of the brain.

"The findings support the protective effect of exercise preceding smoking cessation against the development of physical dependence, which may aid smoking cessation by reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms," said senior author Dr Alexis Bailey, of St. George's University of London. The findings have been published in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Read here What do teenagers think about smoking? Fortis' study reveals stunning findings.