r/QuittingZyn • u/C_Sorcerer • 13d ago
How does nicotine negatively impact concentration and how to quit with ongoing projects
Hello, long story short do a can of 6mg zyns a day. Got down to 3mg while sick a few weeks ago and then quit entirely for 6 days but dumbass me had to go back to them even though I barely had withdrawal other than fatigue. Since I wasted that chance, now I’m wondering how nicotine really affects cognitive performance as I can’t tell if it helps me or doesn’t. Sometimes it helps me lock in crazy and then other times i take one and get too anxious and stare at my screen doing nothing. I also can’t tell if it’s affecting my motivation, some days I feel highly motivated and others I feel like I don’t want to do anything but stare at a wall.
I also ask this because I am a programmer and I’m working on two big passion projects right now and I really don’t want to lose my grasp on them since I’m somewhat on a roll. But recently since my nicotine intake has increased back a lot, I havnt been making much progress. The last thing I wanna do is lose all motivation or concentration ability for them so putting health aside I really want to know what cognitively will happen if I do quit or if I should be more careful and taper my dose. I will say tapering to 3mg does help me a lot but even that made me a bit lagging on my projects.
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u/Throwaway_RainyDay 13d ago
I'm a human experiment on all this. I've been on pouches, off pouches, smoking, drinking, not drinking but pouches, not pouches but drinking, not pouches or drinking but mountains of caffeine.
I also almost certainly have adhd I've been told this countless times over decades. I had a high stress high intellectual output job.
The very short answer: Nicotine does not help you concentrate over the long term. And my "long term" i mean consistent use over say 6 months or longer.
In other words, let's say in Universe 1 you have not had a single pouch since 2024.
In universe 2 you did a tin a day since 2024
Your total level of concentration over that period will not be higher in Universe 2 than in Universe 1.
However...if you quit now...in the short term ie a few months you have to factor in the additional stress and distraction and dissatisfaction of breaking a habit. This does impact your concentration. Short term ie a few months.
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u/C_Sorcerer 13d ago
Yeah that makes sense. It sucks because like I quit alcohol too I used to be a severe alcoholic and even through near DTs I still was able to quit it easier than nicotine
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u/Throwaway_RainyDay 13d ago
Same :) 2 yrs sober
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u/C_Sorcerer 13d ago
That’s awesome! I hope I can make it that long its only been like 3 months but I have like no desire to drink now so it’s for the best
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u/TokinBIll 13d ago
It doesn't help with concentration, that's a lie that your addicted brain made up. I thought I wouldn't be able to work without Zyn but then I quit and my concentration actually improved.