Stress less to stop your hair turning grey

 Want a good reason to stress less and take more me-days every now and then? How about this one? A 22 June 2021 article on Neurosciencenews.com with the rather self-explanatory title "It’s True: Stress Does Turn Hair Gray (and It’s Reversible)" claims exactly what it says it does.

The article explains that while previous studies using mice indicated the opposite, it's now been proven that it is possible to actually reverse the signs of ageing in hair. Now, what's important to remember is that hair that's already outside of your head won't magically change colour. However hair that will come out in the future can most certainly go back to your natural colour.  

The Neurosciencenews article writes about a research study by Ayelet Rosenberg and co entitled "Quantitative mapping of human hair greying and reversal in relation to life stress" published on eLife, also on June 22nd. If you're interested in the full text of the study with proper explanations, do check the link. As the eLife article explains, 

Hair growth is an active process that happens under the skin inside hair follicles. It demands lots of energy, supplied by structures inside cells called mitochondria. While hairs are growing, cells receive chemical and electrical signals from inside the body, including stress hormones. It is possible that these exposures change proteins and other molecules laid down in the growing hair shaft. As the hair grows out of the scalp, it hardens, preserving these molecules into a stable form. This preservation is visible as patterns of pigmentation. Examining single-hairs and matching the patterns to life events could allow researchers to look back in time through a person’s biological history.

As someone in my thirties who's definitely starting to see the not so subtle signs of ageing, reading about news like this makes me happy. Once, as a child of about 7 or 8, I had this profound moment looking in a mirror at myself and thinking that how I looked on the outside didn't really match who I felt like on the inside. Over the years, I've gotten used to how I look and think 'this is me' when I look in a mirror. However over the past few years, I've started being more critical when looking at myself and spotting signs of ageing. Yes, ageing and simply growing older means that how I look on the outside changes. That's only natural. Yet looking at yourself when waking up and thinking 'wow, I look tired' isn't exactly a great start to your day, is it? It's not very positive, or very kind to oneself. While I'm happy to be who I am, the idea that some of those signs of ageing can be reversed really does feel very positive and motivates me to work on stressing less and relaxing more. 

What also makes me happy is that as more and more time is spent researching the effects of stress, but also the effects of for instance meditation and mindfulness, there's actual scientific evidence to support the idea that being healthy and staying young in mind and body really does have both a physical and a mental component. Of course exercise is important. Of course a healthy diet is important. Of course drinking enough water is important. However being healthy is not just about exercising enough or eating healthy or not smoking - what happens inside your head matters too.