Do You Smoke to Take a Break?

There is an interesting phenomenon that is often attached to regular smoking. When someone comes to see me to stop smoking, it is often the case that when working, they will have a cigarette every couple of hours or so. If you are a non-smoker, you will often notice that colleagues who smoke leave the office every 2 hours or so to take a ’cigarette break’.

The psychologist, Dr. Ernest Rossi, has researched and written a great deal about the biological rhythm called the Basic Rest Activity Cycle. Apparently, we are biologically designed after waking in the morning to have a period of 90 to 120 minutes when we are able to focus and ’get things done’. We will then tend to find our focus starts to wane and we want to take a break. We then have a period of about 20 minutes during which the brain assimilates the activity of the previous time - if we do something that takes us completely away from what we have been doing. When we then come back to the previous activity, we will tend to be fresher and more able to focus and be productive once more. This cycle repeats throughout the day and is known as an ultradian rhythm. I would suggest that smokers are without realising it, acting in accordance with this rhythm.

When someone smokes a cigarette, they go into what we call a ‘smoker’s trance‘. If the person is on their own, attention becomes largely absorbed in smoking the cigarette and perhaps some daydreaming. If they are also on their phone or talking in a group, these other activities become part of that trance. In any event, it is likely that for the moment, the activity they were engaged in before has moved into the background somewhat.

The sorts of activities Rossi suggests can aid us in getting the most out of these 20 minute breaks is relaxation, meditation, self-hypnosis or anything else that will tend to take us into some kind of ‘chill’. It could therefore be listening to some music, doing some yoga, stretching, going for a walk or something else that absorbs your mind in a calmer way.

If you are trying to give up smoking, it is worth bearing this in mind. If you recognise that this was a pattern for you, could you find such an activity that would replace the cigarette in those ’need for a break’ moments?

There is much more to the 20 minute break than I have mentioned here and if it interests you, you can find out more in this blog post

Ernest Rossi has also written a book called “The Twenty Minute Break.”

For my Smoke Free package, take a look here