I came across this article on the New York Times "For Young President, Flecks of Gray" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/us/politics/05gray.html?em) and my first thought was this journalist clearly does not have anything of substance to write about. I mean our economy is in a perpetual, dismal state, honestly who cares if President Obama is getting gray hair? And then I realized, I care. At least enough to finish the entire article.
The basic premise of the article is the overwhelming stress of being a president shows in the health and appearance of the presidents--in President Obama's case, going gray 44 days into the job. While I didn't learn anything important in this article (does learning that FDR developed hypertension while in office counts?), I was left with a curiosity about the relationship between stress and gray hair.
While in college, I've wondered why some students were more prone to have gray hair. In particular, I've noticed that men are more likely to have gray hair than women. But that could be because women care more about their appearances and so dyed their hair (not that there's anything wrong with having gray hair--Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada). Of course I know that getting gray hair is part genetics just as being bald is. But I think stress is a big contributor as well. Anyways, time to google.
So what's the verdict? Graying can begin as early as teens and as late as 50s. Usually, men start graying around age 30 whereas women start around age 35. However, while there is no empirical evidence demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship between stress and gray hair, scientists do believe that a surfeit of stress can lead to graying.
It would be fatuous for me to say stop worrying and that worrying is a waste of time. But who am I kidding? We ALL worry. And besides, some stress is better than no stress. What is important is that we don't let our worrying control us.
