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Feeling overwhelmed by stress or struggling to adjust when things go wrong? Everyday habits such as eating a nutritious breakfast, getting regular exercise, and sleeping enough may play an important role in how well your mind handles difficult situations.
New research from Binghamton University suggests that these healthy routines are connected to a mental skill called psychological flexibility, which helps people adapt to challenges and recover from stressful experiences.
Psychological flexibility refers to the ability to adjust your thoughts, emotions, and actions as circumstances change. Rather than becoming trapped in negative thinking or overwhelmed by frustration, people with greater psychological flexibility can recognize their emotions, consider their options, and respond in a more productive way.
“You might know someone who stays cool under pressure,” said Lina Begdache, an associate professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University and lead author of the research. “The kind of person who misses a flight and, instead of panicking, calmly adapts to the situation. This person may still feel stressed, but they’re better able to manage it through psychological flexibility.”
“People may say that these are resilient people, but they also have what’s called psychological flexibility. They’re able to change the way they think about the situation and then use brain resources to handle the stress.”
How Breakfast, Sleep, and Exercise Relate to Mental Resilience
To explore the relationship between lifestyle choices and emotional resilience, Begdache worked with Jason Cherry, a former Binghamton assistant professor of physical therapy, and former student Alexander J. Talkachov.
The researchers collected anonymous survey responses from approximately 400 college students, gathering information about their diets, sleep patterns, exercise habits, and other lifestyle factors.
Their findings revealed an important connection between healthy routines and the ability to cope with stress. Students who reported healthier habits, including regular physical activity and consistent breakfast consumption, also tended to demonstrate greater psychological flexibility and resilience.
The study identified several notable associations:
- Regular breakfast consumption: Eating breakfast at least five times per week was associated with greater resilience, with psychological flexibility helping explain the relationship.
- Adequate sleep: Students who slept fewer than six hours generally reported lower levels of both resilience and psychological flexibility.
- Physical activity: Exercise lasting 20 minutes or longer was associated with greater psychological flexibility and an improved ability to cope with stress.
- Fish oil intake: Taking fish oil several times per week was linked to better psychological flexibility.
The opposite pattern also emerged. Students who reported less healthy behaviors, including frequent fast food consumption and insufficient sleep, tended to show greater psychological rigidity, meaning they had more difficulty adjusting their thoughts and behaviors when circumstances changed.
Because the research relied on survey responses, the results demonstrate associations rather than proving that these habits directly improve psychological flexibility or resilience.
Why Psychological Flexibility Matters for Stress
According to Begdache, psychological flexibility gives people the mental space to recognize what they are experiencing instead of becoming completely absorbed by their stress. This ability to reassess a situation can make it easier to understand difficult emotions and determine how to respond.
She explained that improvements in diet and lifestyle may help support this kind of mental adaptability.
“When we’re under stress, we feel like we fuse with the stress. We live the stress. But psychological flexibility is like stepping back and thinking, ‘I feel this because of that. What can I do?’ Identifying your emotions sometimes helps you find the solution for these emotions,” said Begdache.
The findings also build on Begdache’s previous research, which linked nutritious diets to greater resilience and poorer dietary habits to reduced resilience.
The latest study offers a possible explanation for that relationship. Rather than influencing resilience alone, diet and lifestyle may support psychological flexibility, which in turn helps people manage stress more effectively.
“The new finding here is that diet and lifestyle don’t just make you resilient by themselves. They help you build the psychological flexibility, which, in turn, makes you a resilient person.”
The study, “Dietary and lifestyle factors and resilience: the role of psychological flexibility as a mediator,” was published in the Journal of American College Health.