<h4>Purpose</h4>The high demands of academia place staff under considerable stress, and enhancing resilience has been proposed as a means of coping with stress; however, resilience in academic contexts remains underexplored. This systematic review aimed to investigate resilience in academia from the perspective of academic staff.<h4>Method</h4>This review was registered within PROSPERO (CRD420251018894) and conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Qualitative studies were identified through searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library, from inception to April 2025. Eligible studies involved academics and focused on resilience.<h4>Results</h4>Thirteen qualitative studies were included. Three main themes were identified: factors influencing resilience, barriers to building and sustaining resilience, and strategies to strengthen resilience.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Findings highlight the need for targeted resilience interventions and education programmes to enhance well-being in academia. Keywords Academia academics associated factors higher education systematic review resilience pmc-status-qastatus 0 pmc-status-live yes pmc-status-embargo no pmc-status-released yes pmc-prop-open-access yes pmc-prop-olf no pmc-prop-manuscript no pmc-prop-legally-suppressed no pmc-prop-has-pdf yes pmc-prop-has-supplement yes pmc-prop-pdf-only no pmc-prop-suppress-copyright no pmc-prop-is-real-version no pmc-prop-is-scanned-article no pmc-prop-preprint no pmc-prop-in-epmc yes pmc-license-ref CC BY-NC Introduction High levels of stress and burnout in academia have resulted in low staff retention (Rahman et al., 2024 ), and negative impacts on teaching quality and learning outcomes for students (Chong et al., 2025 ). Resilience may play a key role in supporting academics' ability to cope with their role demands (Yu et al., 2025 ), ultimately improving workforce Understanding how, why, and in what ways academics experience resilience from their own perspectives is essential for guiding effective intervention development and implementation and for providing an important adjunct to the predominantly quantitative evidence base. In this systematic review, we aim to address the evidence gap by posing the following question: How is resilience experienced among academics, and what are its impacts? Material and methods This systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (Ref: CRD420251018894) and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines (Page et al., 2021 ). Search criteria and data selection Studies were included if they involved academics working in universities and other higher education institutions and investigated resilience as a primary outcome, along with its associated factors, using a qualitative approach (Supplementary File 1). Researcher positionality and reflexivity The researchers on this team had diverse backgrounds in academia, nursing education, and qualitative research. These backgrounds provided familiarity with academic workplaces, work-related stress, and resilience-related factors, which supported the interpretation of the findings from the included studies. We recognise that our academic roles, professional experiences, and disciplinary positions may have influenced how we interpreted the findings. Study Country Phenomena of interest Setting Sample size/ Participant characteristics Methodology and analytical approach Description of main results Cadete ( 2024 ) South Africa Perceived experiences of psychological resilience University 27 Women academics Mixed-methods sequential explanatory design; survey followed by semi-structured interviews; analytical analysis not reported. Clemons ( 2024 ) United States of America Academics’ experiences and their resilience through COVID-19 and a major hurricane in 2020 and 2022 Public university 7 Instructors, assistants, associates, and full professors Phenomenological study; semi-structured interviews and documents; constant comparative thematic analysis Two themes: creating community through an ethic of care and finding resilience through purpose. Emotional resilience and regulation , as essential to controlling emotions, thus increasing resilience, were reported in two studies (Chan et al., 2021 ; Dohaney et al., 2020 ). Academics described how emotional maturity grew through experience rather than avoidance. As one participant reflected, “I think you just grow from maturity… you mellow, and you just learn from feedback” (Chan et al., 2021 , p . 453). This suggests that resilience was not a fixed trait, but something refined through repeated exposure to professional challenges. Supporting systems and collegial relationships helped reduce isolation, provided emotional and practical support, shared experiences, and increased academic confidence. One participant described: “…they were here, helping me for weeks, bringing me food… I put out an all-call… and they all came” (Clemons, 2024 , p . 571). These supports included an ethic of care, commitment to care, and supportive working conditions and resources, which were key to enhancing resilience and fostering a profound sense of purpose, thereby increasing staff sustainability in higher education. The finding aligns with the study by Ross et al. ( 2024 ), which found that academic resilience involves personality traits, trust, strong relationships, and the capacity to recover from adversity. The finding is also mirrored in the study by Ang et al. ( 2021 ), which revealed that resilience was associated with internal resources (e.g., determination, aspirations), a positive outlook, and meaningful relationships. In addition, this finding corroborates the scoping review by Price ( 2023 ), which demonstrated that designing resilience is a core practice for increasing cognitive flexibility and adaptability in higher education.

A significant decline in sleep duration was observed over time (from 6.8 ± 0.9 to 5.9 ± 1.1 hours, p &lt; 0.001), accompanied by progressive deterioration in cognitive scores: reaction time worsened (p &lt; 0.001), digit span declined (p = 0.002), and Stroop interference increased (p &lt; 0.001). Academic performance scores demonstrated a positive correlation with sleep duration (r = 0.43, p = 0.001). Multivariable models identified sleep duration as an independent predictor of academic performance (β = +2.78, p = 0.003) and cognitive domains, after adjusting for all confounders. Conclusion: Chronic sleep deprivation among medical students results in significant cognitive decline and diminished academic performance. The findings highlight the significance of implementing institutional sleep hygiene programs to maintain cognitive function and enhance academic performance among medical students. Keywords: academic performance, attention, chronotype, cognitive function, executive function, medical students, sleep deprivation, sleep hygiene, undergraduate medical education, working memory Introduction Sleep is a fundamental physiological process that supports cognitive function, emotional stability, and memory consolidation [ 1 ]. Among university students, particularly those in the medical field, sleep deprivation has become a prevalent and persistent issue exacerbated by academic demands, irregular schedules, and psychosocial stressors [ 2 ]. While acute sleep restriction may have temporary effects, chronic deprivation is associated with impairments in attention, working memory, and executive functioning, which are critical domains essential for academic achievement [ 3 ]. The preclinical phase of medical education presents distinct challenges. Students are required to assimilate complex theoretical knowledge while concurrently adjusting to the demands of professional training. This transition frequently coincides with the development of unhealthy sleep patterns, whic