his balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to gWhat do insomnia and smoking have in common? And if an insomniac quits smoking, would they sleep more or less? And why?

The average smoking insomniac smokes and cannot sleep for the same reasons. They have an underlying anxiety that drives both unwanted behaviors of smoking and lying awake at night.

Nicotine is a drug that acts as both a sedative and a stimulant. It helps with sleep and it helps with waking up. Perfect. The problem is that smoking causes serious heart and lung disease, costs a great deal of money, and, frankly, it stinks. So most smokers understandably wish to give up.

Take away the sedative and what do you think will happen?

Well it depends on whether the need for sedation in the first place was addressed or not. Both smoking and lack of sleep have an underlying anxiety driving smoking cravings and keeping the smoker awake at night.

Think of this anxiety as air inside a balloon. We have two options. We can pop this balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to g

es both unwanted behaviors of smoking and lying awake at night.

Nicotine is a drug that acts as both a sedative and a stimulant. It helps with sleep and it helps with waking up. Perfect. The problem is that smoking causes serious heart and lung disease, costs a great deal of money, and, frankly, it stinks. So most smokers understandably wish to give up.

Take away the sedative and what do you think will happen?

Well it depends on whether the need for sedation in the first place was addressed or not. Both smoking and lack of sleep have an underlying anxiety driving smoking cravings and keeping the smoker awake at night.

Think of this anxiety as air inside a balloon. We have two options. We can pop this balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to g

nd lung disease, costs a great deal of money, and, frankly, it stinks. So most smokers understandably wish to give up.

Take away the sedative and what do you think will happen?

Well it depends on whether the need for sedation in the first place was addressed or not. Both smoking and lack of sleep have an underlying anxiety driving smoking cravings and keeping the smoker awake at night.

Think of this anxiety as air inside a balloon. We have two options. We can pop this balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to g

first place was addressed or not. Both smoking and lack of sleep have an underlying anxiety driving smoking cravings and keeping the smoker awake at night.

Think of this anxiety as air inside a balloon. We have two options. We can pop this balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to g

his balloon taking the air out of it entirely , or we can squeeze it out of an undesirable space. However, if we squeeze it at one end, that end may indeed deflate thoroughly, but the other end will get bigger. After all, the air will have to go somewhere in the balloon.

So, if the smoker stops smoking by fortifying themselves in the face of adversity or by forcing themselves to stop, then of course the anxiety has to find an outlet somehow. The simplest outlet is a route the anxiety already takes, the insomnia. So this should get worse.

If the smoker looks beneath the surface of smoking cravings, they will find the anxiety ready and waiting to be removed. If they then choose to treat the underlying anxiety, then the insomnia should improve. It may take longer than simply addressing the smoking as a standalone, but it should have a more desirable overall result. In other words, the air in the balloon goes nowhere but out of the balloon.

It may feel strange taking out the undesirable instead of putting in the desirable. But with all that unwanted air in the balloon, how can we possibly squeeze any good behaviors in without letting at least some of the air out?

Ask any Emotional F