Does Stress Cause Grey or White Hair?
Table Of Content
The authors highlight the need to further study the interactions between the nervous system and stem cells in different tissues and organs. The knowledge gained in this work will be useful in future investigations into the impact of stress on the body and the development of new interventions. As we age, these melanin producing cells go through a phenomenon called apoptosis, or programmed cell death, causing the hair to turn gray or white. "The medical term for graying is canities," trichologist Bridgette Hill, WTS, tells PS. "There is a growing curiosity in the science and medical community for study of the hair follicle," she says.
Gray Hair Can Return to Its Original Color—and Stress Is Involved, of Course
Historical accounts claim jailed British statesman Sir Thomas More and French queen Marie Antoinette went white overnight while awaiting execution. Hair pigmentation patterns of 100 hairs from a male and female study participant. Other contributing factors to premature graying include deficiencies in protein, vitamin B-12, copper, and iron as well as aging due in part to an accumulation of oxidative stress. However, mice without adrenal glands still showed stress-related graying.
Irregular bone marrow cells may increase heart disease risk
But stress isn’t the only — or even the primary — reason that most people get gray hair. The idea that acute stress can cause hair to turn gray is a popular belief. During the anagen phase, which lasts 2 to 6 years or longer, the hair grows. During the catagen phase, which lasts about 3 months, the hair rests.
Three will receive 2024 Harvard Medal
For someone who has had gray hair for years, however, removing stress is unlikely to cause their locks to rebound to their original color, as the hair has gone well past the graying threshold. Melanocyte stem cells become more vulnerable as they age, he said. So added stress potentially "changes the timing" of graying, he said. There's a long-held belief that graying hair is more than just an issue of time and age — it's a marker of lived experience. The adage, "you're making my hair gray" suggests silvering strands are a record of worries, while Marie Antoinette's hair went white in a single night after learning of her execution, according to legend.
Scientists discover 'why stress turns hair white' - BBC.com
Scientists discover 'why stress turns hair white'.
Posted: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
How to deal with hair loss?
"Conceivably, if that signal is disrupted, melanin will not deliver pigment to your hair." Some people start seeing gray hairs in their 20s; others in their 50s, so that window of opportunity will vary. The investigators immediately noticed that some gray hairs naturally regain their original color, which had never been quantitatively documented, Picard says.
The hair that regrows from hair follicles that have lost melanocyte stem cells has less pigment and appears gray. Scientists have put a lot of effort into investigating the cause of gray hair, and they believe they've gotten to the root of the problem. Hair gets its color from a pigment called melanin, which is produced by melanocyte cells in the hair follicles. Researchers have discovered that melanocytes endure damage over the years, which eventually leaves them unable to produce melanin.
"There was one individual who went on vacation, and five hairs on that person's head reverted back to dark during the vacation, synchronized in time," Picard says. Senior author Ya-Chieh Hsu shows off a diagram of a hair follicle — complete with a helpful test mouse. “The stress response is necessary because it will promote survival in evolutionary terms.
Special Health Reports
"What we do has a material impact on things we used to think were irreversible like hair graying," Picard said. In practice, Kingsley said he doesn't often see hair recover its pigment. Reverse graying is also more common in patients being treated for a hair loss condition, rather than people who are graying normally, he said. There are significant limitations to this study, (the major being that it was conducted on mice) but the general consensus among professionals suggests that stress, along with genetics and ethnicity, may contribute to the development of gray hair. In short, scientists are beginning to gather clues that stress can hasten the graying process, but there is no scientific evidence demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
If you find it difficult to cope or your stress symptoms don’t decrease, it may be time to talk with a professional. There are many resources for finding a therapist or support group to help you deal with the stressors in your daily life. Mindfulness is the psychological process of actively paying attention to the present moment. You can do many things to trigger the relaxation response and reduce stress.
Some studies suggest that telogen effluvium can also be connected to low levels of iron, so include iron-rich foods like leafy vegetables, lentils and liver where you can. If you like the idea of adding supplements to your routine, there are some which are specifically formulated to contain ingredients that increase hair thickness and health. According to healthcare education company StatPearls, when the body is under stress, the hormone cortisol is released throughout the body, even the hair follicles.
When you are stressed, your body responds by releasing the neurotransmitter, noradrenaline as part of your “fight-or-flight" reaction. Under normal circumstances, pigment-producing stem cells remain inactive until new hair growth occurs. Participants with some gray hairs or "two-colored hairs" — gray and pigmented in the same strand — were asked to log their experiences and stress levels over recent months. They found that stressful experiences such as a job loss were linked to graying. For now, the next step is to look more carefully at the link between stress and graying. Hints that gray hairs could spontaneously regain color have existed as isolated case studies within the scientific literature for decades.
"It's the gradual depletion of [melanocyte] stem cells that leads to the loss of pigment," he says. Stress triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, which in turn causes pigment-producing cells that give hair its color to go into a frenzy and dwindle in number, researchers report online January 22 in Nature. "Just as the rings in a tree trunk hold information about past decades in the life of a tree, our hair contains information about our biological history," Picard says. Ayelet Rosenberg, first author on the study and a student in Picard’s laboratory, developed a new method for capturing highly detailed images of tiny slices of human hairs to quantify the extent of pigment loss (graying) in each of those slices. Being gentle with your hair while it’s experiencing change is important so as not to exacerbate any thinning. It goes without saying that excessive heat and chemical treatments aren’t a good idea, but try and opt for protective hairstyles too.
Melanin helps protect hair against free radicals such as UV rays. Since gray hair is missing this pigment-making protein, it means it’s also much more susceptible to UV damage. A recent study points out that without this protection, the UV light melts the cortex, making the hair more brittle and damaged. So just like your skin, you need to protect gray hair against the sun. A simple way is by using a protectant spray like Rene Furterer Solaire Protective Summer Fluid. Picard and his co-authors suggested that it may be possible to reverse graying hair in someone who has recently gone gray.
How stress causes hair loss - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)
How stress causes hair loss.
Posted: Tue, 13 Apr 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Hair also tends to grow back after most illnesses, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Wearing a wig or hat can hide the hair loss until the hair returns. Hair transplants are a more permanent hair-replacement solution. Hair loss also can have other causes, including drugs or disease. Other factors known to cause graying include smoking and nutritional deficiencies (such as vitamin D, B12, or ferritin). In these cases, correcting the deficiency has been shown to restore some of the pigment or color to the hair.
But there's a cost to being stressed and the cost is that maybe some of the cells age faster,” Picard said. He was amazed at the number of people who reached out to him to share stories of their white hair growing out in color. “There was one individual who went on vacation, and five hairs on that person’s head reverted back to dark during the vacation, synchronized in time,” Picard says.
Comments
Post a Comment