Summary

Recent studies suggest that the stress from the pandemic may be accelerating the graying process in people's hair due to the impact of stress hormones like noradrenaline on melanocyte stem cells.

Abstract

The article discusses the phenomenon of increased hair graying during the pandemic, attributing it to the heightened stress levels experienced by many. It explains that while graying is a natural part of aging, environmental factors and stress can expedite this process. The biological mechanism linking stress to gray hair is complex, with recent research indicating that the stress hormone noradrenaline, released during acute stress, may prematurely activate and deplete the stem cells responsible for hair pigmentation. This results in permanent graying, as the lost pigment cannot be restored. The article also suggests that while cortisol is associated with chronic stress, it is noradrenaline, related to acute stress, that is implicated in stress-induced graying. To mitigate the effects of stress on hair color, stress-reduction techniques and a healthy lifestyle are recommended, although once the hair has turned gray, the change is irreversible without hair coloring.

Opinions

Amy Cannon, a writing professor, noticed an increase in her gray hairs during quarantine, which she attributes to stress-induced sleep and menstrual cycle disruptions.
Dr. Shilpi Khetarpal, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic, confirms that genetic and environmental factors, including stress, can accelerate the onset of graying.
The article's author suggests that the pandemic's impact on jobs, routines, and health has caused acute stress, which may be contributing to the observed increase in gray hair among individuals.
The author also implies that while stress-induced graying is permanent, stress-reduction methods like yoga and meditation, as well as a healthy lifestyle, may help slow down or prevent further graying.
The author notes that the recent study published in Nature provides a new understanding of the relationship between stress and gray hair, emphasizing the role of noradrenaline over cortisol in this process.

A Special Kind of Stress Is Turning Your Hair Gray

There’s a scientific reason why so many people are graying right now

A few months into quarantine, Amy Cannon noticed more gray hairs than usual. “I distinctly remember looking up from washing my hands one day and thinking ‘Oh, wow,’” says the 32-year-old writing professor. “The sprinkling of grays was more pronounced, and especially visible at my part.”

The fast onset of gray hairs — which some are experiencing for the first time ever — has become a widespread anecdotal trend amid lockdown. And while it’s hard to prove the pandemic is definitely causing more salt-and-pepper dos, science does point to a probable culprit: stress.

Stress has long been to blame for any uptick in gray hairs, pandemic or not. And for Cannon at least, this explanation makes sense. “I’ve joked about quarantine insomnia, but it’s true,” she says. “I’ve skipped menstrual cycles from the stress and stopped sleeping from the anxiety.”

Stress manifests itself in the body in a number of ways; stress acne and chronic inflammation are among the most common stress-induced effects. But how exactly stress impacts hair color — or, more accurately, the lack thereof — is less understood.

It helps to know how the graying process works, stress aside. Gray hair is a normal part of aging, particularly after age 30 (any grays that appear before then are considered premature graying). The more precise timing of when someone starts to gray is largely dictated by genetics. “Each hair follicle has pigment cells, which are called melanocytes, and over time, there’s this programmed cell death,” says Shilpi Khetarpal, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Those melanocytes die off, which in turn shrinks the amount of pigment in hair, lightening strands and turning them gray.

“Despite expert consensus that stress and graying are linked, the actual biological mechanism that ties stress and graying is hard to pin down.”

It’s pretty straightforward — or would be, were genetics the only piece of the puzzle. “Everything’s really a combination of your genetics and your environment,” says Khetarpal. “So, if you’re smoking, if you’re exposed to pollution, sun, and other environmental triggers, [or] if you’re exposing your body to external stressors, that can certainly accelerate the process.”

Factors like these can move up the timeline of graying onset. People may begin to see either their first grays or more robust graying just six to eight weeks after the start of a significant stressor. Considering that, it makes all the more sense that people are only now, a few months into lockdown, seeing a rise in grays. The upshot: Even if your genes were programmed for you to start going gray at 35, you could begin to see gray hairs sooner if you’re feeling especially frazzled.

Despite expert consensus that stress and graying are linked, the actual biological mechanism that ties stress and graying is hard to pin down. Some researchers surmise that cortisol, the stress hormone that contributes to breakouts, impacts the melanocytes at the base of hair follicles, while others theorize that the activity of free radicals — unstable molecules that ultimately damage cells — caused by inflammation impacts follicle health.

A new study published in Nature offers another theory. The study suggests that stress doesn’t harm melanocytes or the hair follicles, but rather it damages the stem cells that produce new melanocytes. When activated by stress, the sympathetic nervous system (which manages the body’s automatic response to dangerous situations) causes dormant melanocyte stem cells — cells waiting to be called into action to produce hair pigment — to wake up, divide, and die.

Even more surprising is the researchers’ conclusion that it’s not cortisol to blame for this stem cell die-off, but another stress hormone called noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine. “It’s what we think of as the fight-or-flight response,” explains Khetarpal, who was not involved with the study. “It’s the key to this stress-induced graying.”

The distinction between cortisol and noradrenaline is important here, as they’re linked to different types of stress. As Khetarpal explains, the body releases noradrenaline when it’s under acute stress — when there’s some immediate emotional or physical threat present, or traumatic event unfolding (like, say, a global pandemic). Noradrenaline can speed up the heart rate, make palms sweaty, and, apparently, cause graying. It’s safe to say that the pandemic—with jobs impacted, routines upended, and near-constant anxiety of the potentially fatal coronavirus—could indeed be the source of acute stress. Cortisol, on the other hand, tends to rise more gradually with chronic stress. The good news there is that everyday work stress likely won’t cause hair to turn gray.

Unfortunately, once stress-induced graying takes hold, the effect is permanent. “We have not yet found a way to turn the stem cells back on,” says Khetarpal. “Once these things happen, that individual follicle is going to be gray or white indefinitely.” Short of coloring it, there’s not much that can be done to restore the pigment once the hair has gone gray.

That being said, it’s possible to interrupt the stress-graying cycle, keeping in mind that you can only control so much — as not everyone will have the same biochemical response to acute stress. Stress-reduction methods are a good place to start, according to Kheterpal. “I encourage yoga, meditation, and other techniques to reduce stress,” she says. “It can stop further damage or slow it down.”

She also points to an overall healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and physical activity, to help counteract the effects of noradrenaline. “There are different neurotransmitters elevated when exercising that can also help,” she explains. In fact, research in the journal Brain Sciences finds that exercise may suppress the release of noradrenaline in the face of uncontrollable stress — and in light of the previous study, that’s a pretty compelling reason to go for a walk.

The other option? Acceptance. “To be honest, I’ve always appreciated people who go gray, so it wasn’t an existential crisis or anything,” says Cannon, recalling the discovery of her new grays. “[It’s] just surprising to me how quickly I feel like it came on.” As with so many things these days, at least we’re all in this together.