This One Feature On The Apple Watch Actually Helped Me Quit Smoking

Bye bye cigarettes.

Apple released its Apple Watch at the beginning of the summer, and overall it was met with meh reviews. This is what Engadget had to say,

engadget.com

Despite the lukewarm reviews, I have an Apple watch, and I think that it is in fact, just OK.

Kevin Smith / BuzzFeed

But, one HUGE positive for me, is that the Apple Watch actually did help me stop smoking cigarettes.

Matt Cardy / Getty Images

How you ask? Well...The heart rate monitor.

Screenshot

When I first got the Apple Watch, I was still a smoker. As I would go outside and smoke several times throughout the day, I would also play around with my Apple Watch (because it was new, and it does things like check my heart rate and show me my texts without looking at my phone).

As I would smoke, I noticed that my resting heart rate would increase with every puff I took. Sometimes it would be ridiculously high after I was done (like 130-140 bpm).

HBO / Via giphy.com

According to the Mayo Clinic, "a normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats a minute." The Mayo Clinic also says that a lower resting heart rate means more efficient heart function. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats a minute."

The thing that helped me kick the habit was being able to directly see how the cigarettes were negatively affecting my health.

Bravo

After every puff my heart rate would increase and stay relatively high for some time after.

For me, being able to directly see how the cigarettes were affecting me was a huge factor in helping me to kick the habit. I had been trying to stop for a while but had no real motivation other than knowing they would one day kill me. It was like the old saying goes out of sight, out of mind. But actually being able to visualize how every puff was negatively affecting my health, helped strengthen my resolve and kick the habit.

I also got a very portable and reliable electronic cigarette which helped to satisfy my oral fixation too. The JUUL by Pax was the best one for me. It's so small and I can pretty much use it anywhere. The combination of e-cig and Apple watch helped me to stop and I haven't smoked for over two months now.

Since quitting I've had more energy, I don't run out of breath when running for the subway, I've gotten comments that my skin is clearer and that I look better overall.

I realize that quitting smoking isn't this easy for everyone. And you don't even have to purchase an Apple watch to get this result as there are many other portable heart rate monitors that you can get. But if you're seriously considering kicking the habit, I'd suggest picking something up that allows you to see cigarette by cigarette how your body is being negatively affected.

If you don't have an Apple watch that's ok, here are a few heart rate monitor options for you to choose from...

Polar Ft1 Heart Rate Monitor - $44

Amazon / Via amazon.com

Garmin Heart-Rate Monitor - $40

Amazon / Via amazon.com

Timex Easy Trainer - $34

Amazon / Via amazon.com

Besides just heart rate monitors there are also apps you can download for your smartphone that will help you quit...

Kwit - available for iOS and Android

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kwit-quit-smoking-for-good/id525441365?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.kwit.app&hl=en

Kwit is free for iPhone and is $2.16 for Android.

Livestrong MyQuit Coach - available for iOS

iTunes / Via itunes.apple.com

The Livestrong MyQuit coach is free and available for iPhone.

Quitting isn't easy...were you able to kick the habit? Tell us about how you stopped smoking in the comments.