Milestones: 20 Minutes and 8 Hours

20 minutes after I had my last cigarette - my blood pressure and pulse rate decreased, and the temperature in my hands and feet increased. This is a great benefit to me as I'm always complaining about how cold my hands and feet are.

At 8 hours after my last cigarette - the carbon monoxide level in my blood will decrease to normal. With the decrease in carbon monoxide, my blood oxygen level increases to normal. It is the carbon monoxide in the cigarette smoke that I've inhaled into my lungs that binds to my red blood cells preventing them from picking up the oxygen that my body needs to nourish and give energy to all my other tissues and organs. I have just 3 more hours to make that mark.

Images: top http://www.knowabouthealth.com/know-what-your-blood-pressure-says/; bottom http://www.billkron.com/COBUSTERS.html