There is a long-held myth that stress causes gray hair and that extreme anxiety can cause it to change color overnight. Coco Ballantyne, a writer for "Scientific American" magazine, cites the story of Marie Antoinette, the French ruler who was guillotined in 1793. Legend says her hair turned completely white overnight as she awaited her execution. Such a fast transformation is unlikely, but there is a kernel of truth in the myth because stress really can affect hair color.
Cause
The actual cause of gray hair is a change in the hair follicles. They are teardrop-shaped cavities that produce a number of hairs over the course of their lifetime, according to Ballantyne. Eighty to 90 percent of a person's hair is actively growing at any particular time, and a hair can live for up to seven years. Initially, this hair is colored by the action of melanocyte cells, but these cells die out over time. Hair grows out gray as the cells are depleted. Stress may contribute to melanocyte death, according to German dermatology professor Ralf Paus of the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein. However, emotional stress is not the only factor. Researcher Emi Nishimura of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University found that environmental conditions can damage DNA and kill off melanocyte cells.
Time Frame
Virtually everyone develops gray hair as they age, regardless of their stress level. Ballantyne explains that the graying process usually starts around age 35 for women and age 30 for men. It can, however, start as early as the teenage years or as late as the 50s for some individuals, depending on a person's lifestyle and genes. Dr. Tyler Cymet, a Boston family medicine physician, estimates excessive stress can trigger graying five to 10 years earlier than it might happen naturally.
Effects
Paus cites stress hormones as the probable contributor to accelerated development of gray hair. He hypothesizes that these hormones might damage melanocyte cells, keeping them from coloring the hair. Dermatologist and researcher Jennifer Lin of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston has a similar theory. She states that stress hormones might interrupt the cellular signals that cause melanocytes to deliver pigment to the hair.
Considerations
People do not go gray all at once. Gray hairs are gradually interspersed among normally pigmented counterparts. This adds to the mystery, according to associate dean of research Desmond J. Tobin of the University of Bradford, because the reason is unclear why stress, the environment or other factors can affect certain cells while leaving those around them intact.
Misconceptions
A person with prematurely gray hair may have an older physical appearance, but Dr. Leo M. Cooney of the Yale School of Medicine states that there is no connection between loss of hair pigment and physical ailments associated with aging. People whose hair goes gray early are not at risk of earlier death based on genetic factors. They face other health risks if they are under a lot of stress, however. The Stress Focus stress-management website cites digestive problems, high blood pressure, cardiac issues and respiratory problems as ailments that can be triggered or made worse by long-term stress.
Prevention
Stress-management techniques will not prevent natural graying, but they may slow the process by reducing potential cell damage stress hormones cause. The Help Guide mental health website recommends meditation, yoga, guided visualization, tai chi and deep breathing exercises as effective stress-busting activities.
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