Clinically proven information on Hair Loss causes and treatments to prevent baldness

What is Stress?

Stress is a physical, chemical or emotional factor that causes physical as well as mental tension and is  involved in causing several diseases. The definition of stress in Oxford dictionary is "a demand upon physical or mental energy.’ Stress is above average demand of your energy. Normally dealing with this demand is very difficult. Stress demands from people to work above their capability. The normalization of this demand is very difficult. It affects many people at different occasions.

While the factors which lead towards stress and its onset are many, some of the most commonly identified happen to be emotional stress, disappointment , pressure, lack of time, work problems, anger, grief, relationship problems, sadness, resentment etc.

How Stress Leads to Hair Loss?
Stress and hair loss maintain a peculiar relationship. We have all seen how being scared or too excited makes our hair stand up. The link between hair and nervous system is well noticed and seen in our daily lives. Further, just as it is with skin, anything that happens to or on our mind and body reflects on our skin and hair. Stress too, hence, has an adverse effect on our hair and might induce hair fall as a result. A healthy and happy person will have healthy hair full of life, while a depressed or over stressed person will sport dull, lifeless hair. Too much emotional and physical stress results in hair loss.

Now stress can be any – physical or mental. In cases of accidents and physical injuries, a lot of stress falls upon the physical health of the body. In severe cases, this results in a temporary suspension of growth in the body. This affects the hair as well. The growth of the hair gets temporarily shunted. As these old strands of hair grow out, we experience hair fall. However, this is an extremely temporary phase. Once the growth returns to normal and the bodily stress reduces, the new hair also starts growing out the follicle. This type of hair fall as described above is called as telogen effluvium.

When we are depressed or over stressed, our sebaceous glands tend to overwork too. This renders our hair a waxy appearance, bearing the sign of the excess stress. In turn, the hair eventually starts falling out and increasing your emotional stress even further. There is a condition where stress also tends to turn the white blood cells of the body against the hair roots and follicles. This process if not cured for long, might result in total baldness eventually as the hair begins to fall out. This condition is called as alopecia areata.

Combating stress:

There are many ways, which will help reducing stress. Some of the most efficient ones for stress management are, however, listed below:

- Exercise

Doing exercise regularly will reduce the stress naturally. It is a wrong conception that people think that exercise just makes one fit physically but it has been proved in latest research that it will normalize stress. So plan a cardiovascular or cardio workout for at least 15 minutes six days a week.

- Eat a healthy diet

Eating healthy diet will help you in lowering the stress. Many people think that balanced diet is just to reduce your weight and get a trimmed body with toned muscles, but it is a misconception. Exercise also helps in boosting your immune system, which in turn helps in managing the stress. Food products and items that are good for the brain and in reducing stress are tuna, blueberries and green tea.

- Practice breathing

Breathing deeply will help in reducing stress. This will not only make your respiratory system strong, but it will also help you in lowering your stress and anxiety. So take deep breaths as this will have a calming effect on your nerves and will make you fresh. Breathe in through your nose, gradually, and out through your mouth, let the air blow exhale.

- Keep a journal or talk it out

You should use this method to reduce your stress. Do not think much about any problem. Just maintain a journal or talk to your friends. You will feel better, putting those thoughts out of your mind.

-Seek professional help
One of the best alternative is to undertake professional help. Sometimes life tosses us into unfeasible curve balls inducing incredible amounts of stress in our lives. Psychotherapist and therapists help the patients find helpful ways to manage their stress.

Breathing a less stressful life not only helps in inducing health into your body mentally and physically, but it will also help in nourishing your dull hair back to life. So get working on reducing your stress now as never before!