Does stress really cause grey hair?

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Does stress really cause grey hair? Thanks for asking. We've all heard the saying, this is giving me grey hair, but is there any truth to it? Actually, yes. Several scientific studies confirm that stress can speed up the process of hair turning white. One such study, published in the journal Nature in 2020, involved Harvard scientists who used mice to explore how stress affects hair pigmentation.

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What did they find? They discovered that melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives our hair its colour, are affected by stress. Normally, as we age, melanocytes gradually stop producing melanin, leading to grey hair. But under stress, research has shown that the nervous system releases hormones that overstimulates these cells.

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This means that the melanocytes use up their melanin reserves prematurely, and once they're depleted, the hair turns grey or white.

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They notice subtle changes in hair colour, sometimes too faint for the naked eye to detect, but seem to be linked to life events. In one surprising instance, a participant's grey hairs actually turned brown again after taking a holiday. This suggests that grey or white hair may in some cases regain its original colour.

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So what's the takeaway?

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While this is an exciting find, it doesn't mean we found a cure for grey hair. The study suggests that managing stress through proper diet, sleep and techniques like yoga or meditation might help delay premature greying. But once hair turns white at a certain age, that change is generally irreversible.