Gray hair may cause stress in some people because it is a clear sign of the aging process, but can stress cause graying? And although the aging process is accompanied by hair turning gray, stress can be the cause of gray hair.
According to a website report, Harvard Health New studies show that nervous system effects such as stress, anxiety, nerves, trauma, and others, lead to responses in the body due to the production of cortisol, the “stress hormone.” This in turn can lead to premature graying of hair by affecting the stem cells responsible for the production of hair pigment.
Are there health problems that warn of graying?
Health problems that gray hair may portend include:
- Vitamin B12 deficiency.
- Neurofibromatosis: This group of genetic diseases causes tumors to grow along nerves and abnormal bone and skin development.
- Tuberous sclerosis: An uncommon genetic condition that causes benign tumors in multiple organs (including the brain, heart, kidneys, eyes, lungs, and skin).
- Thyroid disease.
- Vitiligo: This condition causes pigment cells (the cells at the base of hair follicles that produce colour) to be lost or destroyed – possibly due to the immune system being “imbalanced” and attacking the scalp rather than an infection.
- Alopecia Areata: a disorder in which there is a sudden loss of patches of hair, especially colored hair, and this may lead to graying because the previously existing gray or white hair suddenly becomes more noticeable. When hair growth resumes, it may be white or gray, but the colored hair may eventually return.
