Tag Archives: hair loss

Loss Of Hair Due To Loss Of Sleep?

Healthy Me, ,

Hair loss can occur as a result of many imbalances in the body, but can hair loss be effected by loss of sleep or insomnia? The answer to this question is YES. Usually a significant lack of sleep or chronic restless sleep will affect hair loss.

Why does loss of hair occur with loss of sleep?

When the you sleep, the body refreshes and replenishes it self with the essential rest it needs. This of course helps with balancing out your hormones and metabolic system, especially your cortisol or stress system, which follows a circadian rhythm – meaning its high in the morning and low in the evening. If you suffer from insomnia or chronic lack of sleep or are suffering loss of sleep, your body’s natural system of balance get “out of balance” which will then affect various aspects of your health, including loss of hair and general luster in skin. Generally lack / loss of sleep occurs due to various reasons, stress being a big factor, and stress is a big cause of hair loss as well.  Generally, you will notice an increase in hair loss when you wash your hair, or brush it, and some people notice hair strands on their pillows or bed on waking.

What can I do to reverse it?

As a naturopathic doctor, my recommendations are as follows:

1. Talk to your naturopathic doctor about your hair loss and loss of sleep. They will be able to identify the root cause of the problem and help you treat it naturally.

2. Try to identify any lack of minerals and vitamins that may also be affecting both your hair loss and insomnia or lack of sleep – Your naturopathic doctor should be able to do the necessary tests to help you with this.

3. If its stress that is keeping you awake, join our stress management program to handle your stress better or find strategies to cope better with your stress.

4. Get onto a really good schedule with regards to your sleep. Acupuncture and certain supplements are great to restore sleep to bring back the body to balance.

5. Trace back your steps to identify what came first – hair loss or loss of sleep? Improving your diet in either case will help tremendously, especially cutting back on the caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor at the Natures Intentions Naturopathic Clinic, in Toronto.

Natural Solutions For Hair Loss

Healthy Me, ,

Thinning hair is often caused by an underlying problem – which could be hormonal- such as an under functioning thyroid gland, imbalance with female and male hormones, poor nutrient absorption and a lack of essential nutrients. If you are experiencing unusual amounts of hair loss or sustained hair loss, please consult with your naturopathic physician to get to the root of the problem (proper diagnosis) and natural treatment.

Listed below are a few natural solutions you can try for hair loss

1. FOOD FOR THE HAIR –  Remember your hair, skin and nails are the luxuries for the body, hence you have an abundance of all when you eat right and treat your body right. Sudden dieting with severe caloric restriction will cause significant weight loss but will also cause significant and severe hair loss. Skipping meals will do the same overtime especially breakfasts and lunches, which consist of the bulk of the food for the day. Its is very important to nourish the hair – with the right nutrients and proteins. HAVE A DIET THAT IS RICH IN GOOD SOURCES OF PROTEIN AND MINERALS. Good sources of vegetarian protein include fermented soy products, lentils, legumes and beans. Consider supplementing if you find it hard to have adequate sources of good minerals and proteins regularly.

2. MASSAGE YOUR SCALP FREQUENTLY – Various aromatherapy oils are available such as rosemary oil, which is great to improve circulation in the scalp and lavender oil, which is very relaxing for the scalp, when applied regularly will be beneficial for hair growth. Cedar wood oil is another one which is great for hair growth too. Other Ayurvedic oils such as brahmi, bhringraj and amla are great for cooling the scalp, decreasing hair loss and early graying and stimulating hair growth when applied regularly.

3. CONTROL STRESS – Stress can cause significant hair loss suddenly. Stress tightens you scalp muscles, which can inhibit blood circulation to your scalp. Relaxation, stress management, scalp massage and yoga along with meditation and deep breathing exercises are helpful. Its important however to get the root cause of the problem in order to resolve the hair loss issue completely.

4. GET MOVING – Aerobic exercise 30 – 40 minutes 3 – 4 times a week is a great way to relieve tension and improve blood circulation to the whole body, especially the extremities. A cold wet towel on the head for a minute after showering may also help to increase circulation to the scalp, just make sure you stay indoors until the scalp dries, as you do not want to catch a cold with the cold wet towel either.

5. HAIR GROWTH SHAMPOO – Essential oils in shampoos will help to stimulate hair growth as well. Rosemary, thyme and lavender are all excellent choices for this purpose. Keep the shampoo on for at least 3 minutes before rinsing it out.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Treating Hair Loss Naturally

Healthy Me,

There are a lot of natural products available in the market for hair loss, however a lot of times patients find that they are not very beneficial or helped a little, but not really.

At the clinic we always get patients to try and focus on why it is that they are losing their hair versus what supplements they can try as often times the underlying cause for the hair loss is something totally different then what we may think will be helpful for it just because a health food store employee or the media says and promotes.

Significant hair loss can be brought on by sudden stress in life or sudden crash diets or diet changes, a lot of times a lack or excess amounts of certain vitamins or minerals can cause hair loss too, toxic hormonal changes (thyroid, male and female hormones) and post pregnancy can cause hair loss due to a low kidney essence / chi. Hence what I recommend for anyone losing hair is to get a proper diagnosis as to why you might be losing hair rather than trying different products off the shelves.

By: Sushma Shah, Naturopathic Doctor, at Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.