Vaping won’t affect everyone the same way, but for many people it makes them feel tired. While nicotine is an upper, both the substance and the crash following its consumption can lead to tiredness and fatigue.
For many of us who vape, it becomes part of our morning routine and can help us feel fully awake and ready for the day. On the flip side, for others, vaping makes them feel drowsy and tired. This sleepiness can be because of toxic chemicals consumed by vape smokers and the complicated way our bodies process nicotine.
How Could Vaping Make You Tired?
Nicotine is a strange chemical because it can cause both mental alertness and fatigue. Generally, you either feel more awake or it works more like a sedative, and its effects can vary from person to person. There are however some other factors that can affect vaping enthusiasts.
Stimulant Crash
The most likely cause of feeling tired after you smoke is caused by crashing. Similar to caffeine, many smokers report feeling tired after the nic high fades and just a little bit of vaping can give you the same amount of nicotine as an entire cigarette.
The nicotine level in your body essentially decides how much different chemicals are blocked in your brain. Adenosine is the chemical that causes drowsiness, however, stimulants block the receptors that take it back up.
Adenosine builds up when you aren’t absorbing it. When your body processes the nicotine blocking the receptors, your brain is flooded with adenosine making you feel fatigued in one form or another. The same thing happens with a caffeine crash, as both caffeine and nicotine work similarly in the human body.
Oxygen Deprivation
Another possibility that affects a lot of first-time vapers and people who have begun to start vaping is oxygen deprivation. Deep draws from an e-cigarette combined with holding the vapor too long in the lungs blocks oxygen absorption. Oxygen deprivation is especially common for people who have just started vaping since their body hasn’t adjusted.
Dehydration
PG and VG may keep things moist in food products, but in the body they can suck up water. A lack of water can lead to dehydration which can make you feel tired.
Nicotine Strength
E-liquids are an especially potent way to consume nicotine. An entire cigarette usually only contains around ten milligrams of the drug, and you only absorb slightly more than one milligram by the time you’ve smoked the cigarette. One milliliter of e-liquid on the other hand can have anywhere from 0mg/ml or can exceed 50mg/ml.
Vaping high nicotine concentration liquids can lead to a nic buzz or high which can also cause you to feel tired, get a headache, have a dry mouth, or suffer from a sore throat.
Many people that switch from smoking regular cigarettes to vaping e-cigarettes run into these issues because they simply ingest too much nicotine at once. Smoking a cigarette is different from vaping, and the amount of nicotine in either one can be vastly different.
The amount of nicotine you consume from vaping e-liquids depends on your wattage, vapor density, how much you draw, how long you hold the smoke, and many other factors. Yet, holding in vapor for longer periods is the most common way people take in too much nicotine.
How To Avoid Sleepiness?
Lower Nicotine Consumption
To avoid the effects of vaping, you can try lowering your nicotine levels. Most of vaping’s short-term side effects are caused by nicotine, so lowering dosages should help alleviate the most common side effects.
You can also try vaping pure vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol juices that contain zero nicotine and only the base and flavoring. If you’ve switched from smoking cigarettes or don’t want to go to zero, try a lower nicotine level e-liquid or disposable e-cigarettes.
You could also simply quit smoking which would reduce your nicotine consumption to zero and avoid other health implications that smoking and vaping can cause. However, if you do decide to quit smoking, be prepared for withdrawal symptoms, and perhaps wean yourself off by using lower concentration juices.
Medical Assistance
If you quit or lower how much nicotine you take in and still find yourself sleepy you should seek medical help. Vaping may not be the cause of your low energy levels.
Other Health Issues That Affect Sleep
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a surprisingly common condition that causes irregular sleep patterns, sleepless nights, and the inability to rest even when you do sleep. For the most part, anyone who snores suffers from some level of this condition.
When you deal with it, you stop breathing for periods while you’re asleep, cutting off oxygen to your organs, making you feel tired all the time and requiring some form of treatment to alleviate.
Vaping can also worsen or cause this condition, which can make you feel more tired during the day.
Insomnia
Not being able to fall asleep is different than just being tired. If you are constantly in a sleepless state, first try to avoid any stimulants for a few hours before bed. This includes sodas, coffee, vaping, watching TV, or gaming. If that doesn’t help, you may want to be evaluated for insomnia and get some sleep medication.
FAQs
What happens if you vape too much?
High doses of nicotine can cause dizziness, nausea, high blood pressure, seizures, coma, and heart complications. These issues are incredibly unlikely for most people who smoke or vape, as juices are regulated and the amount it takes to reach severe symptoms is exceptionally high. Most likely, you’ll feel dizzy, sick, or tired, and it will wear off in a few minutes.
How can I sleep better while still vaping?
Establishing healthy sleep patterns can be difficult, especially for people who suffer from medical issues or consume stimulating products near bedtime. But you can use certain aids, like melatonin, to help you sleep better even if you vape before bedtime.
However, it is best to avoid stimulating activities or products near when you want to sleep, instead opting for relaxing and quiet activities such as reading, painting, or listening to music.
If you’ve tried everything you can think of and still feel like you can’t rest it’s time to talk to your doctor.
Conclusion
Vaping can absolutely make you feel tired. Many smokers report fatigue after vaping, and the cause can be nicotine crashes, lack of oxygen traveling in your blood vessels, or even the way stimulants affect that individual person.
If you’re suffering from poor sleep and think your vape may be the cause, try adjusting the concentration of your juice, use a different atomizer, or simply try vaping less and see if the problem lessens.