Stanford University genomicist says that hair thinning may not be caused by dandruff, spicy food, but by a hormone; says one eating habit may reduce your hairfall

A Stanford-educated genomicist recently revealed a shocking reason as to why you are losing hair – with dandruff! In a video that has gone viral, Dr Michael Paul Snyder, the director of the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personalised Medicine, explained that sometimes incessant hair loss can be traced to high cortisol levels.

He said that as long as cortisol levels are high, hair loss won’t stop no matter what you apply to your scalp. Fitness coach Magnus Lindberg took to X to explain his tips in depth.

Avoid Food Three Hours Before Sleep

Lindberg explained – The scalp is treated by serums. Your bloodstream is where shedding begins.


When you eat late, your cortisol levels remain up throughout the nite, which causes follicles to transition from the growth phase to the shedding phase.

Eight is the last bite. Safeguard the deep slumber that restarts the cycle.

Leave No Task Unfinished

Every incomplete activity is a tab in your browser that your brain keeps open, a silent release of cortisol that strains your follicles throughout the day.

Focus Forward, Don’t Dwell On The Problem

Your nervous system travels in the direction of whatever you look at.

Your body rehearses the threat when you replay the stress, producing more cortisol and shedding.

Give your desired destination a name. Every day, aim for that.

Dr Snyder's work centres on omics, a field that examines large-scale biological data, including genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, and other high-throughput molecular datasets. His research team has significantly advanced knowledge of the genetic and gene-expression landscapes of both yeast and humans, providing valuable insights into how cells function and respond to biological changes. The laboratory has also been a pioneer in developing longitudinal multi-omics profiling, an approach that tracks multiple biological markers over time to assess health, detect early signs of disease, and better understand an individual's changing physiological state.

What Is Cortisol?

According to Cleveland Clinic, cortisol is a hormone generated by your adrenal glands. It plays a key function in regulation your body's reaction to stress - short term, long term and traumatic.

It serves several other essential functions in the body, such as:

• Helping regulate the way the body processes glucose and converts it into usable energy.
• Playing a role in controlling inflammatory responses.
• Contributing to the maintenance of healthy blood pressure.
• Supporting the body’s internal sleep–wake rhythm and helping regulate daily sleep patterns.