January is National Hobby Month, a time to focus on our favorite pastimes and possibly even try a new one. From sports to gardening, from cooking to crafting, Americans spend an average of five hours each day on their hobbies.
At first it may seem that hobbies are unrelated to hair loss, but you might be surprised. Having a hobby can help you cope with hair loss and, in some cases, may even help to prevent certain types of hair loss.
Does Lifestyle Help with Hair Loss?
Many types of hair loss are either caused or exacerbated by stress. Having a leisure activity that promotes stress reduction and increases your psychological well-being can be beneficial to your overall health and to the health of your hair.
Telogen effluvium is a common form of hair loss, characterized by excessive shedding throughout the scalp. It occurs when stress disrupts the hair’s growth cycle, pushing larger than usual numbers of hair strands into their telogen phase. This is where hair strands shed and the follicle rests, in preparation for fresh growth. When too many follicles are in their resting phase, hair will appear thin and the scalp may be visible.
Having a hobby is a healthy outlet to reduce your stress load. This is especially true if your hobby involves physical activity.
Can Inactivity Cause Hair Loss?
A sedentary lifestyle does not necessarily cause hair loss, but it certainly can aggravate it. Lack of exercise often leads to diminished blood flow to the scalp, cutting off the oxygen and nutrients hair needs to grow.
In addition, if inactivity results in obesity or is accompanied by a poor diet, the effects may be multiplied. When one holds too much fat in their body, the stem cells needed for hair growth are disrupted, leading to thinning, easily broken hair strands. A poor diet starves hair follicles of crucial nutrients, further inhibiting hair growth.
An inactive lifestyle may also limit the opportunity to use hobbies and other leisure activities as a stress release valve that could aid in staving off telogen effluvium.
Can Hair Loss Diminish Enjoyment of Hobbies?
On the other hand, noticeable hair loss may actually cause some individuals to withdraw from their favorite hobbies. For some, hair loss is accompanied by self-consciousness and fear of judgment serious enough to lead to social isolation and a lessened feeling of enjoyment in hobbies that used to be fun. This can become a vicious cycle where the stress of losing one’s hair can actually accelerate or increase hair loss.
Don’t Let Hair Loss Keep You from Your Favorite Pastimes
If hair loss is preventing you from fully enjoying your favorite activities, RHRLI offers both surgical and nonsurgical hair restoration treatments, specializing in proven ARTAS® robot-assisted hair replacement. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. We can determine the underlying cause of your hair loss, help you maximize your existing hair, and create a plan to achieve the look you deserve.