New research from Binghamton University published in the Journal of American College Health has suggested a relationship between healthy routines and psychological flexibility, a mental skill that helps people adapt to challenges and recover from stressful experiences. This newfound association may establish a way to give people the ability to better re-assess situations and avoid becoming completely absorbed by stress while at the same time making it easier to understand more difficult emotions and how to respond.
Lead author Lina Begdache, an associate professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University, collaborated with former Binghamton assistant professor of physical therapy, Jason Cherry, and former student Alexander J. Talkachov in the recent observational study. As part of the process, the team collected information about diets, sleep patterns, exercise habits, and other lifestyle factors anonymously from about 400 college students. By parsing through responses, the researchers identified a connection between healthy routines and the ability to cope with stress, with those who reported healthier habits such as regular physical activity and eating breakfast consistently tending to result in a greater psychological flexibility and resilience. In a similar manner, those who reported less healthy behaviors, including frequent fast food consumption and insufficient sleep, were connected to greater signs of psychological rigidity.
Specifically regarding psychological flexibility, those who ate breakfast at least five times a week were more likely to demonstrate greater resilience, but those who slept less than six hours a day tended to experience lower levels. Exercising for 20 minutes or longer was linked with higher levels, and taking fish oil several times a week was associated with greater psychological flexibility and improved ability to cope with stress.
Due to this study being an observational study relying on surveys, it currently can only show associations between certain variables, such as just described, meaning experiments will need to be conducted to demonstrate causal relationships between these associations. However, these findings do currently build on Begdache’s previous research that linked nutritious diets to greater resilience and poorer dietary habits having the opposite effect by associating a potential explanation for the connection through psychological flexibility.
Reflecting on the study, Begdache commented, “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.”
