Stress and arousal rhythms in cigarette smokers, deprived smokers, and non‐smokers

Abstract

Feelings of stress and arousal were assessed in sedative smokers (N=26), stimulant smokers ( N = 14), nicotinedeprived smokers ( N -14), and non-smokers (N=22). The self-rating questionnaire was completed every 2 hours, from waking until late evening. Feelings of anxietyktress decreased over the day in non-smokers, and both groups of smokers, but increased in deprived smokers (group x time interactions: p < 0.001). This demonstrates the anxiogenic effects of nicotine deprivation, and confirms that one major reason for smoking is to avoid the deleterious effects of nicotine deprivation. While average daily stress levels did not differ significantly between smokers and non-smokers, both groups of smokers started the day with higher stress than non-smokers, but ended the day with slightly lower stress (group x time interactions: p~0 4 0 1 ) .Thus the gradual accumulation of nicotine does have anxiolytic effects. The arousal findings were complex, with different circadian patterns found across all four groups.

Cigarette smoking: Habit or nicotine maintenance? effects of short‐term smoking abstinence and oversmoking

“…With respect to the stress ratings, the present findings are somewhat in contrast to observations made by Parrott and Joyce (1993). In that study, abstinent smokers reported continuously increasing stress throughout the day, whereas smoking smokers reported the opposite, and the authors argued that these stress ratings were inversely correlated with plasma nicotine.…”

Factors associated with smoking in student nurses

“…There is increasing evidence that far from decreasing stress, smoking may well increase it in the long term (West, 1993). Thus each day regular smokers appear to go through cycles of increases in stress with time since the last cigarette followed by a reduction in stress on smoking the next cigarette (Parrott and Joyce, 1993). Smokers may notice that the cigarette acutely reduces the stress but fail to notice that the stress is itself just part of a withdrawal syndrome.…”

Explaining the stress‐inducing effects of nicotine to cigarette smokers

“…The next stage comprised a series of real world studies. The core aim was to investigate the mood and cognitive changes of regular smokers over a day of normal cigarette use (O'Neill and Parrott, 1992;Parrott and Joyce, 1993;Parrott, 1994aParrott, , 1994b. This design allowed some clarification into the balance between nicotine abstinence (the periods in-between cigarettes), and nicotine reinstatement (the immediate effect of each new cigarette).…”