It may be 'the most wonderful time of the year' but it's no secret that the festive period is actually the
most stressful time for many people, too.
The British Medical Journal published a
Swedish research paper on 5th November 2018 which stated that the Christmas holidays present a more significant risk of heart attacks, with Christmas Eve - December 24th - being the most likely date when a heart attack may occur.
Stress has long been known to contribute to, or even cause, thinning hair and
hair loss - and that includes Christmas anxieties.
New research from a leading market research firm, Mintel, has identified the seven top sources of festive season stress in Britain.
Top sources of festive stress in the UK
The 2018 research was conducted among 2,000 internet users aged 16 years and over. It found that over a third of adults in the UK say they
feel stressed at Christmas (36%).
Specifically, there were seven key areas that made people particularly anxious:
1 The cost of buying presents (46%)
2 Choosing the right presents for people (43%)
3 Lack of time to get everything done (27%)
4 Preparing Christmas dinner (20%)
5 Delayed food or gift deliveries (17%)
6 Having to spend time with certain family members (16%)
7 Behaving badly at a Christmas party (4%)
Fail to prepare, prepare for hair fall
Knowing what to look out for can help you to better prepare yourself with regards avoiding stressful situations or developing effective stress-management solutions. These can include small steps such as getting regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and ensuring you have
enough sleep - all areas of day-to-day life people can easily neglect during this party season. Doing so may minimise your chances of developing
stress-related hair loss as a result.
For those whose stress levels do suffer significantly, hair loss triggered by seasonal stress over the Christmas period is likely to become noticeable within three months. Therefore, Christmas shedding should take place in early Spring, around March time.
It presents as diffusely thinning hair falling from all over the scalp, and can affect around 30 per cent of the hairs on your head. This can be shocking, but the good news is that the condition -
Telogen Effluvium - causes temporary hair loss. Although
treatment is possible, it generally resumes normal hair growth naturally within up to six months.
Developing this temporary issue is a particular worry for men and women with permanent,
genetic hair loss, however. Those with active cases of
Male Pattern Baldness or
Female Pattern Hair Loss may find their shedding worsens as a result, and those with an underlying, dormant predisposition to these hereditary concerns, may have their onset prematurely sparked. Again, there are clinically-proven
hair loss treatment options available in each scenario so anyone concerned about thinning hair or persistent hair fall should consult a specialist at their earliest opportunity for a diagnosis and personalised recommendations.