When Rest Feels Like Failure: Rethinking Grind Culture in Student Life

By Reva Jerath

Ever feel like you’ve become a machine running on caffeine, deadlines, and pure survival mode? In a culture that glorifies constant productivity, many students have learned to equate rest with laziness, falling behind, or even personal failure. The “grind culture” narrative, if you’re not doing something, you should be, has become deeply embedded in academic settings, influencing how we study, how we measure achievement, and how we value ourselves. This mindset comes with consequences that many students know too well: burnout that sneaks up slowly, irritability that feels out of character, and a sense of emptiness even when we are “achieving” things. When the grind becomes our default, our bodies and minds eventually try to get our attention. To build healthier relationships with work and time, we need to pause and question the standards we have been taught to chase.

The Rise of Productivity as Identity

For many students, productivity isn’t just something they do, it becomes something they are. Research shows that people increasingly tie their self-worth to academic or professional accomplishments, a pattern known as contingent self-esteem, which is strongly linked to burnout and depressive symptoms (Crocker & Park, 2004). When success becomes a reflection of personal value, the stakes of every task increase. Rest becomes risky. Idleness feels like identity failure.

Universities, often unintentionally, reinforce this mindset. Competitive academic environments, heavy course loads, and the constant push toward “what’s next” can create what sociologists call a performance culture, one where achievement becomes the primary metric of worth (Gill, 2016). The danger is that in cultures like this, slowing down feels impossible, even when it is necessary. I used to think taking a break meant I was falling behind, so I would push myself through exhaustion instead of pausing for even ten minutes. Eventually I realized that slowing down is not the same as giving up. Sometimes it simply means giving your mind a moment to breathe so you can return with more clarity. That is where rest truly begins.

When Rest Feels Like Falling Behind

Students frequently describe rest not as something restorative, but as something to be earned. Yet chronic overwork has well-documented mental health consequences. Studies show that academic burnout among university students, characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and decreased performance, has been rising globally for over a decade (Schaufeli et al., 2002). Lack of rest contributes directly to this cycle by impairing attention, memory consolidation, decision-making, and emotional regulation (Walker, 2017).

The Hidden Cost of “Always On”

Productivity culture often disguises itself as ambition or passion, but underneath, it encourages students to override their own needs. Ever spend hours working on something and still feel like you did not accomplish enough? That feeling is a sign that the goalpost is constantly shifting.

According to Self-Determination Theory, people thrive when they feel autonomous, competent, and connected (Ryan & Deci, 2000). A lifestyle built around constant output slowly erodes these needs until students are left drained and wondering why working harder never seems to feel satisfying.

Research also shows that multitasking, overcommitment, and long workweeks do not improve long-term performance. Working more than 55 hours a week is linked to poorer cognitive functioning and higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms (Virtanen et al., 2018). “Pushing through” can appear admirable, yet it often turns into the equivalent of sprinting a marathon. You can keep going for a while, but eventually your mind and body will insist on a different pace.

Redefining Success: What Would a Healthier Culture Look Like?

If we want to shift away from a culture that makes rest feel like failure, we need new definitions of success, ones that prioritize sustainability, balance, and well-being alongside achievement.

1. Success as Balance, Not Exhaustion

Success does not require sacrificing sleep, relationships, or mental health. According to Hershner and Chervin (2014), well-rested students perform better academically, emotionally, and socially. Academic excellence and rest are not opposites, they support one another.

2. Success as Alignment, Not Overextension

Instead of doing “everything,” students thrive most when they pursue meaningful commitments aligned with their values. Value-congruent goals are linked to greater motivation and resilience (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). Saying no can actually create space for deeper, more authentic yes’s, like choosing not to overload yourself with yet another commitment so you can say yes to something that genuinely aligns with your goals, whether that’s a research opportunity, a meaningful club role, or simply protecting your well-being.

3. Success as Humanity, Not Perfection

Rest, breaks, and boundaries are not signs of weakness, they’re signs that we are human. A sustainable definition of success acknowledges that growth requires recovery. Rest is not an interruption to productivity; it is part of the process.

A Final Reflection

If rest feels like failure, it may be because we’ve learned to define our worth in terms that were never meant to sustain us. Students deserve more than survival-mode achievement. We deserve a culture that honours learning, not just output, one that recognizes rest as a radical act of self-respect.

Redefining success is not just an individual shift; it’s a collective one. It starts with giving ourselves permission to stop, breathe, recover, and remember that we are more than what we produce.

References

Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 392–414.

Gill, R. (2016). Postfeminism and the new cultural life of feminism. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 40(3), 233–253.

Hershner, S., & Chervin, R. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6, 73–84.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Schaufeli, W. B., Martinez, I. M., Pinto, A. M., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). Burnout and engagement in university students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(5), 464–481.

Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(3), 482–497.

Virtanen, M., et al. (2018). Long working hours and depressive symptoms. Journal of Occupational Health, 60(1), 11–20.

Walker, M. (2017). Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner.