Scientists Finally Pin Down Why Stress Turns Our Hair Gray

It comes down to the sympathetic nervous system and a common hormone.

By Jennifer Walter
Jan 22, 2020 8:30 PMJan 22, 2020 9:58 PM
Gray Hair
Stress and other factors can turn our hair gray. (Credit: Milan Ilic Photographer/Shutterstock)

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It's a well-burnished saying: Stress makes your hair turn gray. But is there actually a correlation between stress and losing the natural color of your locks?

According to a study published today in Nature, there is, in fact, a direct link between stress and graying. Over the past two decades, researchers have found preliminary evidence that stress plays at least a small role in initiating the graying process. But our understanding of how that works has been murky — until now.

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