The typical U of T student experience is not one without mental and physical torment. Long hours of sitting at the desk, constant pressure from wave after wave of impending deadlines, a dire sense of competition with everyone who seems to be doing better than you, a feeling of burnout that’s the default state of affairs – university is unquestionably not for the faint of heart. There is something damningly tragic about this state of affairs, and how mental health is always sacrificed for academic success.

Tangible consequences arise from the backbreaking lifestyle students are forced into to keep up academically. Long work hours are strongly linked to many negative health consequences, according to recent evidence from a meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. One of the major health issues linked to long workdays is sleep disturbance, which includes short sleep duration. The study points to a higher risk of a number of mental and physical health conditions, including chronic fatigue, mental health disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. A cycle of exhaustion is thus introduced: overwork and high stress from rigorous academic demands often lead to diminishing returns, where students are less productive and retain less, perpetuating the cycle of needing to work even harder to catch up.

Hustle culture, which is fueled by capitalist notions of achievement and self-reliance, exalts relentless work as the path to prestige and success. This narrative romanticizes overworking as a personal virtue and a public performance, sometimes associating one’s value with production. It is widely accepted in industries such as technology, banking, and academia. Silicon Valley exemplifies this culture, portraying all-consuming dedication as essential to innovation and greatness. Amplified by social media, hustle culture has turned work into a status symbol, suggesting that the dream job demands total devotion, blurring the line between passion and exhaustion.

I thus propose an alternative culture of rest. The two main parts are promoting rest and balance and advocating wellness-centered campus policies. The current grind culture takes us down a glorified hellish downward spiral of never-ending work and anxiety to overachieve. Let the culture of rest do students justice.

Instead of sleep deprivation and burnout being presented as bizarre trophies, picture rest, self-care, and balance being recognized as indicators of maturity and responsibility. As the new badge of honour, students should begin to normalize rest, exercise, a balanced diet, and enough sleep. We should start bragging about doing yoga and meditation and other wellness exercises. We should be proud if we got our full eight hours of sleep the previous night. The intention is to foster an atmosphere in which balance and rest are valued rather than ridiculed.

We could pioneer a social media campaign to spotlight students who are ambassadors of wellness and balance. The campaign would involve the experiences of students who have found fulfillment in various activities outside of academics and reconciled self-actualization and societal pressures to be conventionally successful. This would make balance more socially prevalent and widely accepted.

We might also begin encouraging wellness behaviours using several strategies.
Under a “WellCoins” system, students would participate and earn points taking part in events such as wellness seminars, intramural sports, meditation sessions, and other activities promoting self-care. These points could be exchanged for gift cards for wellness-related products, discounts at the school gyms or bookshop, and discounts at the dining halls. A student may choose to team up with a friend to do wellness activities together, such as planning healthy meals, tracking regular walks, or attending a designated amount of yoga classes. Rewards might be personalized for every couple, such as discounts on sports event tickets or exercise equipment. Within this system, U of T may collaborate with wellness businesses to give students involved in mindful activities free or discounted memberships and apply savings on health-related subscriptions like online gym classes and meal planning applications.

The other aspect of this rest culture would concern wellness-centered campus policies. Self-compassionate deadline extensions would allow each U of T student a set number of flexible deadlines per semester without penalty. This acknowledges that life can interfere with academics and removes the stigma of asking for extra time. Similarly, U of T could designate “homework-light weekends” where no assignments are due on Mondays, and no extra unofficial work or readings are assigned over the weekends to give students more time and space to keep up with existing workloads. This would help students better account for their mental and physical well-being during times of high stress and give students some breathing space to reconcile their academic performance with lives outside of school.

This is what a day in a rest-focused U of T could look like for students.

Morning: A Gentle Start and Deliberate Routine

A typical weekday morning. Thanks to disciplined, reasonable deadlines, which have helped them finish their work earlier in the day, students are well-rested instead of waking sleep-deprived and grumpy following a late-night study session. Every course starts after 10 a.m., so those needing more sleep can start their day right. To help mental clarity before classes, some students begin their day with a mindfulness program offered on campus or gentle yoga in a dedicated wellness area.

Class Engagement and the Role of Faculty in Student Success

In a rest-focused environment, classes are designed to promote engagement with course content without excessive workload. Professors prioritize active learning through discussions, group projects, and interactive activities rather than overloading students with readings or assignments. In place of endless lectures, classes focus on deep comprehension and student involvement, allowing students to leave class feeling enriched rather than overwhelmed. Faculty could adopt teaching methods that build reflection into each lesson, allowing students to process and apply their learning.

Evening: Meaningful Leisure Time

Most days, students can end classes with plenty of time to enjoy dinner, hang out with friends, or pursue interests without feeling like they must immediately return to homework. Projects and homework assignments are scheduled to be realistic so that nights can be free of over-demanding deadlines and students can unwind. Attending wellness events would be considered a respectable investment in well-being, integral to a successful and balanced academic life.

Nevertheless, the main driver of grind culture is the present educational system; hence, the alternative culture of rest should also aim to reform our present system such that it will equip students with the necessary skillset to achieve their goals and be more ready to contribute to society.

Courses could include experiential and project-based learning into more material through real-world collaborations that link students with companies, nonprofits, or community organizations so they may work on practical issues. Courses may also include capstone projects to prompt students to apply what they have learned in a meaningful way via multimedia projects, research papers, or community-based activities instead of tests or through term papers. U of T could also offer field experiences integrating knowledge and learning methodologies calling for students to collaborate across disciplines. Focusing on difficult, real-world tasks, this method teaches holistically and allows students to grow in critical thinking and flexibility.

There are many benefits to a rest-positive academic culture. Rested students have better cognitive functions and retain information more effectively. According to a study published by npj Science of Learning, “better quality, longer duration and greater consistency of sleep are strongly associated with better academic performance in college.” Hence, prioritizing balance in university prepares students for healthier, more sustainable professional and personal lives. Furthermore, a relaxed academic environment may foster better social connections and a more supportive campus culture where mutual empowerment rather than cutthroat competition is at the forefront of our minds.

Creating a culture prioritizing wellness and balance at this university is possible. However, it starts with prioritizing your health and taking small steps toward creating a more balanced environment. Act by advocating for policies with student councils and faculty, leveraging current mental health services, and connecting with peers who share a commitment to wellness.

Ultimately, as clichéd as this may sound, it’s up to you, the reader, to take tangible action to improve your well-being at U of T. It may seem that there is no way out of the cutthroat competition and perpetual stress that grind culture has created. We live in a society where superficial displays of wealth and status feed into our egos driven to conform and appear successful. Having grown up all our lives in said society, we have fallen asleep and grown numb to social conventions that we may not even have wanted to attain in the first place but have since given in to. Let university be the place you wake up. Let it be where you challenge accepted wisdom and consider what is important to you and your own life mission. The opportunity is thus with us here and now to build a U of T campus and future society that will fit our demands for balance and well-being.