Does stress cause GREY hair?

 Can Stress Really Turn Your Hair Grey?

Is it possible that our hair might start greying from all this stress? Well, that’s a little bit too complicated to discuss in one sentence. This is why we are going to dive deeper into this topic and explore it further. Other videos recommended for you: WATCH 🎥: 9 Reasons Why Stress Is Bad For Your Skin & How To Stop It - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAOtL... WATCH 🎥: This Is What Your Hair Can Tell You About Your Health - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk1HW... #Stress #GreyHair #Bestie Sources: https://pastebin.com/sKjQrLQ9 Timestamps: Intro - 0:00 1. Let's start with what we know: 00:24 2. Barack Obama: 03:16 3. Mathew Perry: 03:51 4. Roger Federer: 04:25 5. Nicole Kidman: 05:06 6. Madonna: 05:45 Music: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/... Summary: Many researchers strongly believe that stress hormones are responsible for premature grey hair. There are several anecdotes supporting this theory, such as reports of premature grey hair in survivors of bomb explosions. Pilots and truck drivers who have survived crashes often report the same thing. The question is, "How much evidence do we have?" Well, there is one piece of research that might interest you. In one study, it was noted that cortisol or stress hormones have an impact on our hair colour. These hormones surge through our body, when we experience a fight or flight response. This often changes the biochemical reactions. It is a well-known fact that some people vomit when they experience “fight or flight”. While others find themselves frozen in place when faced with the same response. This is mainly because the biochemical reactions differ from one person's body to another. Similarly, they can also cause grey hair. So does it mean that it is just a side-effect of the fight or flight response? In order to get a better perspective, we need to understand how stress affects our tissues and organs. For more information, please watch the video until the very end. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to Bestie : https://goo.gl/tUqro6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestieinc/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Medical Disclaimer: https://pastebin.com/xLmigD6i

Stress can have a variety of negative effects on the body. The idea that acute stress can cause hair to turn gray is a popular belief. But until now, that link wasn’t scientifically proven.

Hair color is determined by cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin. New melanocytes are made from melanocyte stem cells that live within the hair follicle at the base of the hair strand. As we age, these stem cells gradually disappear. The hair that regrows from hair follicles that have lost melanocyte stem cells has less pigment and appears gray.

Researchers set out to determine if stress could also cause hair to gray, and if so, how. The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and other NIH components. The findings appeared in Nature on January 22, 2020.

The research team, led by Dr. Ya-Chieh Hsu of Harvard University, used mice to examine stress and hair graying. The mice were exposed to three types of stress involving mild, short-term pain, psychological stress, and restricted movement. All caused noticeable loss of melanocyte stem cells and hair graying.

Having established a link between stress and graying, the scientists then explored several potential causes. They first tested whether immune attack might be responsible for depleting melanocyte stem cells. But stressing mice with compromised immune systems still led to hair graying. The team then investigated the role of the stress hormone corticosterone, but altering its levels didn’t affect stress-related graying.

The researchers eventually turned to the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, which, along with corticosterone, was elevated in the stressed mice. They found that noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine, was key to stress-induced hair graying. By injecting noradrenaline under the skin of unstressed mice, the researchers were able to cause melanocyte stem cell loss and hair graying.

Noradrenaline is produced mostly by the adrenal glands. However, mice without adrenal glands still showed stress-related graying. Noradrenaline is also the main neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” reaction in response to stress.

The team ultimately discovered that signaling from the sympathetic nervous system plays a critical role in stress-induced graying. Sympathetic nerves extend into each hair follicle and release noradrenaline in response to stress. Normally, the melanocyte stem cells in the follicle are dormant until a new hair is grown. Noradrenaline causes the stem cells to activate.

Using florescent labelling, the researchers observed the stem cells change to melanocytes and migrate away from their reserve in the hair follicle. With no remaining stem cells, no new pigment cells can be made, and any new hair becomes gray, then white. 

“When we started to study this, I expected that stress was bad for the body — but the detrimental impact of stress that we discovered was beyond what I imagined,” Hsu says. “After just a few days, all of the melanocyte stem cells were lost. Once they’re gone, you can’t regenerate pigments anymore. The damage is permanent.”

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.