Does Sleeping On Your Side Make a Difference to Your Hair Loss?

Dr. Rassman,

Does running your hand through your hair have any effect on the rate of hair loss? I have a habit of running my hand through my hair frequently (possibly 50 times) each day, and being a 20 year old male with my genetics against me, I am beginning to wonder if this may be encouraging hair loss to occur (although no loss, other than slight recessions, is visible yet).

Also, when sleeping, does it matter whether I sleep on the crown of my head verses the side of my head? Specifically, does sleeping on the crown help to encourage hair loss in the crown area (eg. the bald spot), and should I attempt to sleep on my side more often, or does it not matter whatsoever? Once again, no hair loss is visible in my crown as of yet, other than the small spot I was born with.

Thank you!

There is no real risk to running your fingers through your hair, unless you are pulling on your hair. Running your fingers through your hair is not causing your hairline to recede, I can tell you that much. Sleeping positions do not impact hair loss.