Psychological flexibility is the ability to adjust your thoughts, emotions, and actions as situations change, while staying balanced and constructive. Rather than feeling trapped by stress, people with stronger psychological flexibility can pause, understand what they are feeling, and respond in a healthier way.
“You might know someone who stays cool under pressure,” said Lina Begdache, an associate professor of health and wellness studies and lead author of the study. “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.”
Key findings from the study include:
- People who sleep less than six hours tend to have lower resilience and lower psychological flexibility
- Eating breakfast five or more times a week is associated with greater resilience through psychological flexibility processes
- Exercise, even for 20 minutes or more, is associated with psychological flexibility and resilience
By contrast, low psychological flexibility, or rigid thinking and behavior, is associated with unhealthy habits such as eating fast food and not getting enough sleep.
Begdache said psychological flexibility helps people “step back” and use the brain’s resources to better understand and process emotions. She also said people may be able to strengthen that flexibility through improvements in diet and lifestyle.
“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.”
Reference: “Dietary and lifestyle factors and resilience: the role of psychological flexibility as a mediator” by Lina Begdache, Jason Cherry and Alexander J. Talkachov, 30 December 2025, Journal of American College Health.
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2025.2597907
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