Q: I went through a tough time two years ago, and my hair has since become much more gray. Could it be a result of the stress?
It’s natural to assume that stress contributes to gray hair. Just look at the various presidents who left office with many more silvery strands than when they went in.
But if you dig into the research, you’ll find that few studies on the topic exist. And while some have found associations between premature graying and stress, no research has proved the link.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know,” said Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, a dermatologist at the Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center in Northern California.
The Science of Stress and Gray Hair
In past studies, researchers have asked participants to fill out questionnaires about their hair color and stress levels, and then the scientists would see if they could link them.
In one study published in 2016, for instance, scientists surveyed more than 1,100 young Turkish adults and found that the 315 who reported prematurely graying hair had higher stress levels than those who didn’t. (Those with premature graying also had histories of alcohol use and chronic disease, and they had parents who went gray at a young age.)