Bad Habits and What They Can Do to Your Hair

We all have bad habits. Whether you aren't getting enough sleep or you are skipping breakfast in the mornings, bad habits no matter how big or small can take a toll on your hair that you probably didn't even know about. Here are some examples of bad habits and how damaging they can really be to your hair:

1. Smoking and Excessive Drinking

Fitness for the Masses explains this one perfectly. They talk about what the damaging effects of inhaling carbon monoxide are from smoking and how excessive alcohol consumption lowers the iron in our bodies which is a key nutrient that our hair needs. Click here to read more about how smoking and excessive drinking can be two of the worst habits for your hair. 1

2. Not Getting Enough Sleep

Getting a good eight hours of sleep every night is essential if we want to stay healthy. Lack of sleep can cause thinning hair. Sleeping is the time of the day that the body restores itself. When your body isn't getting all of the repair and rest that it needs, your hair can get some of the pretty nasty effects from it like leaving it dry, brittle, and lacking luster. It can cause your hair to grow more slowly and even lead to some hair loss. 2

3. Skipping Breakfast

We all know that skipping breakfast is bad for your overall health. That is can affect your metabolism, cause migraines, and even increase your risk of cancer, but did you know that it can also trigger hair loss? Not getting enough protein at the most important meal of the day can affect the levels of keratin in your hair, keeping hair growth to a minimum as well as triggering the loss of some of your hair. Want to keep your hair thick and lush? Make sure you get in that most important meal of the day! 3

4. Not Drinking Enough Water

What is too often overlooked is the effect of dehydration and your hair. Each hair is made up of 1/4 water, and when you're not getting enough water, it causes your hair to become weak. Plus, water flushes out toxins in your body which could also be a major contributor to hair loss. The more water you drink, the more your health will simply improve from one end of the spectrum to the other! 4

5. Spending Too Much Time Indoors

Being inside anywhere too long is going to affect not only your physical and mental health, but your hair as well. Spending too much time indoors can increase your stress levels, your blood pressure, and your heart rate, which in turn, all of those things can stunt the growth of your hair and cause hair loss. 5

6. Taking Too Much Medicine

Do you pop a pill every time you get a headache, menstrual cramp, when you can't sleep, etc? All that medicine is wreaking havoc on your hair! Many medications not only limit your hair growth, they can cause hair loss an catastrophes on chemical services at the hair salon. Limit your intake of medicines you don't really need, and save your hair! 6

Try and be aware every day to improve these habits for not only your hair, but your overall health, as that is most important!

Sources: 1.https://fitnessforthemasses.com/dht-hair-loss/ 2.http://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/can-lack-of-sleep-lead-to-hair-loss/ 3.http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/harmful-effects-of-skipping-breakfast/ 4. http://www.evolvehairreplacement.com/hair_articles/drinking_water_and_hair_loss.html 5. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/23/nature-deficit-disorder-is-staying-indoors-harming-your-health.html 6. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/20-bad-habits-you-need-to-quit-now/articleshow/18162949.cms