People with high psychological flexibility do not lose it when faced with stressful events.
We’ve all known someone who, even in the most difficult of circumstances, seems cool and doesn’t let stress get the better of him. How does it do that?
The answer lies in himself psychological flexibility. This term describes his ability to adapt their thoughts, feelings and behavior to changing circumstances in a balanced and constructive manner.
People with high psychological flexibility do not lose it when faced with stressful events. Instead, they take a step back, mentally process their feelings, and respond accordingly.
Previous research has shown high psychological flexibility gives significant advantages. And that’s because it’s associated with lower stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
New research
now, new research reveals what lifestyle habits can increase this flexibility by reducing the stress we feel.
The study was conducted by scientists from Binghamton University in New York. It was conducted on 401 students, 19.58% of whom were women.
The researchers wanted to determine whether psychological resilience was related to diet and other lifestyle factors. So, they posted an anonymous questionnaire on the social networks of some colleges.
Useful and aggravating habits
Their findings Published in “Journal of American College Health”.. As researchers have found, the adaptability of the psyche is strongly associated with daily habits.
In fact, students who adopted healthy habits were better able to adapt to stress. Breakfast 5 or more times a week has been very helpful. So is at least 20 minutes of daily physical activity. Taking a fish oil supplement a few times a week also helped.
Conversely, late nights (less than 6 hours of sleep per night) and frequent consumption of unhealthy foods had an aggravating effect.
«When we are under stress, our body becomes agitated. Psychological flexibility is a response that allows us to think about how we feel about the things we encounter in the first place“, he said leading researcher Dr. Lina Begdache Associate Professor of Health and Health Studies at Binghamton.
He added that by recognizing our feelings, we can sometimes find a solution to them.
Practically speaking, the new findings show that healthy habits don’t just make the body fitter. They also benefit us mentally, helping us to be more resilient to life’s challenges, concluded Dr. Beghdache.