Secret to Handling Stress

From eNewsletter 11/2/2026

New research from the Journal of American College Health points to the secret to handling stress better: your daily habits. The study highlights a mental skill called psychological flexibility - the ability to adjust your thoughts, emotions, and actions as circumstances shift, rather than getting stuck in frustration or negative thinking. Miss your flight? Instead of spiraling, you calmly figure out a plan B. You still feel the stress, but you can step back, name what you’re feeling, and choose a productive response.

To explore what supports this skill, researchers surveyed subjects about their diet, sleep, and exercise. The pattern was consistent: healthier routines went hand in hand with greater flexibility and resilience. Eating breakfast at least five times a week, exercising for 20 minutes or more, sleeping at least six hours, and taking fish oil regularly were each linked to a better ability to adapt under stress - while frequent fast food and too little sleep tracked with more mental rigidity, or difficulty adjusting when things changed.

What makes the findings interesting is the “how.” The researchers suggest that nourishing routines don’t just make you tougher on their own - they may build the underlying mental flexibility that allows you to manage stress well in the first place.

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