Want To Cope Better With Stress? Your Daily Habits May Be The Key

Simple habits like sleeping well, eating better, and exercising are linked to a greater ability to cope with stress. Part of this effect occurs because these behaviors strengthen psychological flexibility, an essential skill for adapting to challenges.

Coping with stress is a common challenge, especially among young adults facing changes, academic pressures, and decisions about the future. Science has sought to understand why some people are able to adapt better to these difficulties than others.

More than just personality traits, daily habits such as diet, sleep, and physical activity can play an important role in how we react to adversity. This study explores exactly how these factors connect and influence the ability to face challenges with balance.

The main objective of this research was to investigate how diet quality, lifestyle habits, and a mental skill called psychological flexibility relate to resilience. Resilience is the ability to cope with difficulties, recover from stressful situations, and continue functioning well. Psychological flexibility involves being able to adapt thoughts and behaviors in the face of challenges without getting stuck in negative emotions.

To do this, researchers analyzed data from over 400 university students in the United States, mostly young people around 19 years old. Participants answered an anonymous online questionnaire, in which they provided information about their diet, routine, health habits, and emotional well-being.

The scientists used an advanced statistical method to understand how all these factors were connected. This type of analysis allows them to observe not only direct relationships, but also how one variable can indirectly influence another, through a third factor, in this case, psychological flexibility.

The results showed that some simple daily habits were linked to a greater ability to cope with stress. For example, eating breakfast frequently and avoiding excessive consumption of fast food were associated with higher levels of resilience. This relationship occurred because these habits seem to favor psychological flexibility, which in turn improves how a person copes with difficulties.

On the other hand, some factors were associated with lower resilience. Sleeping less than six hours a night was one of the main negative points, indicating that lack of sleep can impair both emotional balance and adaptability.

Furthermore, within the studied sample, women presented, on average, slightly lower levels of resilience when this ability was analyzed in conjunction with psychological flexibility.

The study also identified factors that influence resilience more directly, without depending on this mental flexibility. Practicing daily physical exercise, consuming certain nutrient-rich foods (such as sources of fish oil), and seeking a higher level of education were associated with a greater ability to cope with challenges. In contrast, marijuana use appeared as a factor related to lower resilience.

Overall, the results indicate that psychological flexibility plays a central role in how we cope with stress. It acts as a bridge between healthy habits and emotional well-being. This suggests that developing this skill, along with adopting a balanced routine, can be an effective strategy for strengthening resilience and improving quality of life.

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Dietary and lifestyle factors and resilience: the role of psychological flexibility as a mediator

Lina Begdache, Jason Cherry, and Alexander J. Talkachov

Journal of American College Health. 30 December 2025, 1–12.DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2025.2597907

Abstract:

Objective: This study examines the relationship between diet quality, lifestyle factors, psychological flexibility, and resilience, with a focus on the potential mediating role of psychological flexibility. Participants: A total of 401 college student records were assessed, with approximately 58% identifying as female and a mean age of 19 years. Method: An anonymous online survey was distributed over social media platforms targeting U.S. colleges. The associations between the variables were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus software. Results: Eating breakfast five or more times per week (b = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.035, 0.229], B = 0.14), and consuming fast food three or fewer times per week (b = 0.09, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.196], B = 0.10) were associated with increased resilience through psychological flexibility processes. In contrast, female gender (b = −0.11, 95% CI = [−0.222, −0.023], B = −0.13) and getting fewer than 6 h of sleep at night (b = −0.10, 95% CI = [−0.342, −0.100], B = −0.24) were associated with lower resilience through psychological flexibility processes. Independent of psychological flexibility, consuming fish oil four or more times per week (b = 0.41, p = .017), exercising more than 20 min daily (B = 0.22, p = .032), alcohol consumption (B = 0.29, p = .003), and pursuing a higher degree (B = 0.15, p = .014) were directly associated with higher resilience, while marijuana use (B = −0.42, p < .001), was directly associated with lower resilience. Conclusion: There is a direct positive association between psychological flexibility and resilience, suggesting that psychological flexibility may be a predictor of higher resilience.