Vapers – just like smokers – fall into various categories. These include the chimney, the chain, the mouth holder, and the social user. But how long do you hold in vape hits? The longer the better, but you should aim for three to five seconds. Why does this matter, and will it improve your vaping experience? Let’s take a closer look at this key vaping question.

How Long Do You Hold in Vape Hits?

How Vaping Works

First, let’s discuss the difference between vaping and vaporizing. Vaping is when you use a gadget loaded with e-juice or e-liquid. This can be a plain flavored vape with no nicotine, a fluid infused with CBD or THC, or an e-liquid with 2% to 5% synthetic nicotine. In contrast, vaporizing refers to dry herbs or a waxy weed concentrate. But the devices can look similar.

In all these cases, the mechanism is the same. When you smoke cigarettes, cigars, flowers, pipes, or loose tobacco, the dried leaves burn to release nicotine, CBD, or THC. But when you vape e-juice, you’re inhaling a mixture of infused oils. This fluid is heated into vapor, so the longer you can keep this material in your lungs, the more will get absorbed into your system.

Logically speaking, this means you’ll get a stronger hit because you’ll have larger volumes of vapor in your system. With practice, you can hold in vape hits for increasingly longer fixes. The current record for holding your breath is 24 minutes and 37 seconds – which would give you quite a high! 56-year-old Budimir Šobat set the record 27^th March 2021 – but he’s a pro!

Nicotine Vapes vs Non-Nicotine Vapes

The type of vape you choose will depend on your preference. Some people just enjoy the sensation of smoking, so they don’t care whether their vape has nicotine or not. Other former smokers might use a nicotine vape to wean themselves off cigarettes. If they successfully kick the habit, they revel in the pleasure and safety of nicotine-free vapes. Best of both worlds!

Social vapers do sometimes like the nicotine buzz, but they might just like big puffy plumes and flavor. It sates their sleekness factor and can be meditative and calming. If your focus is on clouds, holding the vape longer won’t make a difference. You’re better off getting a higher-powered vape for that. But you will still look and feel cooler if you can extend your vape hit.

Nicotine vapes are slightly different because the nicotine binds receptors in your brain. This releases dopamine and epinephrine. In small doses, these hormones start by stimulating you then quickly follow by calming you, though the effect varies by person. It takes roughly ten seconds to feel the response, so factor that in when you’re deciding how long to hold the hit.

Pause Between Puffs

You might not know this, but your neuro-receptors have limits. Only a specified number of nicotine atoms can attach at a time. That’s why when you smoke, your first cigarette of the day feels so powerful. After that, you may need to smoke two or three in a row to replicate that sensation, and you rarely do. With vapes, this is a little different because it dissipates.

With tobacco, you’ll know how much nicotine you’ve taken in because you can finish a cigarette, cigar, or bowl. With a vape, you can get a hundred puffs or more, and you might not notice because the fumes disappear within minutes. This means it’s easier to overdo it and get nicotine sickness. Instead of increasing the number of cycles, pause between puffs.

When you inhale, hold it as long as you can, but aim for 3 to 5 seconds. Then, exhale and wait ten to fifteen seconds before you inhale again. If you have the willpower, wait up to thirty. It helps to make a game of it. You could count your breaths, repeat a phrase in your head, sing a mental song, or even whistle internal tunes. Make the melody part of your vaping ritual.

Increase the Intake on Inhale

Some people like to hold their vape hit in their mouths and puff out their cheeks. They can then exhale through their mouths or noses. But one way to hold the hit for longer is to let it into your lungs. Once your mouth is full of vapor, push the fumes back by taking a belly breath. It’s a common trick used by singers and swimmers and it helps them sustain the air.

Another trick is to inhale the vape then part your lips slightly and pull more air through your teeth. This automatically pushes the fumes deeper into your lungs. If a little vapor slips out of your mouth, suck it back in, taking two or three inhales before you expel the clouds. You want the bulk of the vapor to get into your lungs and be absorbed into your bloodstream.

This does take practice, so if you’re worried about your street cred when vaping in public, try it on your own. You’re likely to cough and sputter before you get the hang of it, and that can be embarrassing. It helps if you pick a flavor you enjoy. Something like Black Mint, which feels elegant, soothing, and refreshing. It a disposable but you can recharge it 10,000 times.

Deeper Hits and Fewer Misses

Vaping can become compulsive. You may find yourself absently raising your pen to your lips and you won’t notice you’ve done too much until you start to feel that migraine and your tummy starts to roil. These are some of the effects of nicotine sickness, and they happen when you take too many hits in a short period. Holding the vape hit for longer is helpful.

This is because it forces you to vape mindfully so you can focus on the experience. You could use a bracelet, necklace, or beaded keychain and shift one bead every time you inhale. This shows you how much nicotine you’ve consumed. It’s also a cool trick to manage the duration of your vape. You can limit the number of hits you take in a day to make the pen last longer.

But there’s an even bigger advantage to this type of vaping. Long-term smokers and vapers often lose the buzz. They develop a tolerance for nicotine so it no longer stimulates them or gets them relaxed. At this point, they inhale out of habit but barely experience any benefits. By spacing out your vapor intake, your tolerance levels stay low so you can still enjoy vapes.

Experiment with Flavours

When you’ve been vaping for a long time, you don’t just lose the hit. Your taste buds can get acclimatized quite quickly. It’s like wearing perfume or cologne – after a while, you’ll stop smelling it on yourself because your senses have adjusted and it no longer feels foreign. So if you want to feel the vibe and hold the hit for extended sessions, try using different variants.

Each time you try a new flavor, the novelty will spark your receptors and it will feel fresh and exciting. As you inhale, think about the taste. What does it remind you of? How does it make you feel? Are you more alert or more relaxed? Run these thoughts through your head while you hold in the hit. The distraction heightens your sensations and lengthens the fix.

Since you won’t actively be thinking about holding your breath, you’ll maintain the hit a lot longer and get a stronger fix in the process. You’ll be more keenly aware of the flavors and their effects so you can figure out what works best for your mood and situation. That way you have a few go-to variants that you always keep in stock while you keep trying new flavors.

Can You Hold a Vape Hit Too Long?

Is it possible to overdose on vapes? Not really, because once you’ve taken too much, it stops attaching itself to your receptors. If you keep vaping at this point, you’ll get nicotine sickness but you’ll no longer feel the buzz. Take a break and drink some water, allowing the excess nicotine to leave your system. Another reaction – you may have a coughing fit from irritation.

That’s your lungs and respiratory system forcing out the fumes that may be bugging your cell linings. Again, pause and take a few deep breaths of fresh air to let your system recover. You could also try a milder flavor that triggers you less. If you’ve been testing various flavors, you know which one gives the best come-down. Smooth, silky flavors are a suitable option.

Train yourself to hold in vape hits by using physical cues. After you inhale, slowly lower your hand so it’s away from your mouth. This builds some muscle memory because your mind will associate the process with longer breaths. Over time, you’ll notice you subconsciously hold the hit until your hand reaches your lap, chair arm, desk, or table. It’ll become instinctual.

Hold Your Breath!

When you’re vaping, how long do you hold in vape hits? The ideal duration is three to five seconds, but keep it going as long as you can. Take additional inhales before you exhale. This pushes the flavored fumes deeper into your lungs, which lets more of that nicotine into your bloodstream. It also makes you a little light-headed and heightens that lovely buzzed feeling.

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