Posted October 16, 2017
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Rise and Grind
Work. Family. Social Media. News. It’s no joke! We live in a stressful world. Stress affects your sleep, diet and overall wellbeing, so it should come as no surprise that stress related behavior also wrecks havoc on your hair.
Here are the top 3 ways your stressful lifestyle is hurting your hair and some ideas to help ease your anxiety and regain that healthy glow.
Stress Symptom #1 | Diet Dilemmas
When the world is on your shoulders the last thing you want to think about is food groups but healthy hair requires nutrients to thrive. An extremely low fat diet is directly linked to hair loss. Without protein, hair breaks. Not enough vitamins and minerals? Could explain that bald spot.
Add hair healthy ingredients to your morning smoothie
Lifestyle Tweak – Hair Shine Smoothie
Building your diet around nutrient rich food is the surest way to encourage strong, healthy hair. Start your morning with a simple smoothie made with the following ingredients known to promote hair health:
- Full of Vitamin C and antioxidants, blueberries produce collagen to strengthen hair
- Almond Milk contains biotin and protein, as well as magnesium – a natural stress reliever
- Bananas are rich in the mineral silica, which thickens hair
- Greek Yogurt provides calcium, protein, vitamins D and B5 – all essential to hair health
Stress Symptom #2 | Lack of Sleep
Your body restores itself while you sleep but it can’t do it’s job when stress and anxiety keep you up all night. Without the right amount of sleep your hair doesn’t have a chance to grow properly, which can lead to dull, lifeless locks. Lack of sleep can also affect your immune system and if your immune system is impacted, hair loss is one of the first symptoms.
Lack of sleep leads to lifeless hair
Lifestyle Tweak – Nature Walk
Take a few minutes out of your day to walk outside and observe the natural world. Even in an urban environment there are seasonal shifts, birds in the sky and clouds floating with the wind. Take note of what you hear, see and smell. Studies have proven that walking in nature reduces rumination, that pattern of repeated thoughts around a stressful situation. Getting out of your own head leads to better sleep.
Stress Symptom #3 | Wine O’Clock
It’s been a long work week and you just want to take the edge off with a glass of wine. Soon your daily glass of wine turns to three and before you know it you can’t remember the last night you didn’t have a drink. Routine alcohol consumption can lead to a dry and itchy scalp. Alcohol also causes inflammation, which enlarges pores, making them oily and clogged. Finally, alcohol dries out your hair the same way it dehydrates your body and this can cause your hair to feel dry and brittle and break easily.
Alcohol dehydrates hair and causes itchy scalp
Lifestyle Tweak – Mindful Minute
Like all things in life, alcohol is fine in moderation. The key to shifting your wine intake from mandatory to moderate is mindfulness. Try to recognize the time of day or circumstances that lead to thoughts of drinking. This small act of mindfulness conditions your brain towards impulse control – and ultimately a night without wine.
Deep Breath
Hair is an indicator of general health. If you are treating your body well, it is going to show in your hair.
Get back your glow with stress management tweaks
Stress is often unavoidable but it’s so important to monitor your wellbeing. If you take proactive steps to regularly manage stress levels, you will see the shine return to your hair — and your outlook.
