Lack of sleep can cause hair loss!
Research suggests that a link between a lack of sleep and hair loss might exist, though this connection is often indirect. Both conditions share several common risk factors, including poor mental health, heightened stress levels, and underlying medical challenges.
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It is widely known that consistently failing to achieve sufficient quality sleep can negatively impact overall health and well-being. However, the question often arises: do the adverse consequences of poor sleep extend to hair loss? Can a lack of sleep indeed cause hair thinning? And if so, what is the underlying reason for this connection?
The Intricate Link Between Stress, Anxiety, and Hair Loss
A lack of sleep can frequently serve as a symptom of underlying stress, and similarly, stress itself can directly lead to hair loss. There is, in fact, a well-established link between stress and hair loss. While high levels of stress are not typically the cause of male pattern hair loss, they can actively trigger – and potentially worsen – a type of temporary hair loss known as telogen effluvium.
A 2023 study involving 1,080 men and women indicates that several causes of hair loss, including telogen effluvium, may be related to both psychological stress (such as relationship problems or financial worries) and physiological stress (like a high fever or chronic illness).
When an individual experiences chronic stress, persistently high cortisol levels can result. Cortisol, famously known as the stress hormone, has been linked to poor hair health. Elevated cortisol levels can affect hair follicles and disrupt the natural hair growth cycle.
Telogen effluvium can also be triggered by severe shock, traumatic events, surgery, significant blood loss, major illnesses and infections, as well as pregnancy and childbirth – all of which can independently cause hair loss and are stressful enough to prevent adequate sleep.
Stress and sleep share a frustrating reciprocal relationship: stress can keep you awake at night, and conversely, a night of poor sleep can leave you feeling less capable of coping with stress. Indeed, a recent review demonstrates that sleeplessness can exacerbate stress, and vice versa, creating a continuous and challenging cycle. Therefore, if you observe hair shedding after a period of sleeplessness, it’s prudent to consider if another underlying factor might also be at play.
