You have heard your mothers or grandmothers warn you about sleeping with wet hair. And you probably believed them so much that you dreaded the thought of leaving your hair wet as you dozed off. Your fears are warranted – sleeping with wet hair is not recommended. Unfortunately, it is not for the same reason that your mother had told you about – such as acquiring pneumonia or some other types of illness.
The primary reason why drying hair before going to sleep is due to the presence of alkaline in water. If you leave this on your hair for an extended amount of time, it can cause the hair shaft to swell. The increased level of porosity in your hair is not good as it makes your hair vulnerable to damage. Another big concern with that is the inability of moisture from your hair to evaporate. This is not just true when you sleep – wearing caps or scarves on wet hair is also not recommended.
Water is also responsible for breaking the physical bonds within the hair. When you sleep with wet or damp hair, it prompts unusual configurations of those bonds and these can be reformed for good as the hair dries. This is responsible for tangles and knotting in the hair that eventually leads to breakage.
The last consideration why you should refrain from sleeping with damp or wet hair is the ability to develop an unpleasant smell. When you expose a damp or wet object in a warm environment, this could promote bacterial formation due to the most environment. Even if you just washed your hair, the bacteria coming from your pillow or bedding could get in contact with your hair and promote that unpleasant odor (especially considering that you will be asleep for several hours).
Even though there are no real dangers to sleeping with wet hair, there are also consequences that you need to deal with. It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to caring for your hair.
Have you ever slept with wet hair?
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