Researchers and educators and policymakers have increased their focus on student burnout and academic pressure since recent years (Barusi & Kurniawati, 2024; Chong et al., 2025). The competitive environment of higher education institutions now requires students to reach academic excellence while they acquire essential professional and personal competencies. The new standard demands more than students can handle because they must manage schoolwork together with their personal commitments (Jagodics & Szabó, 2022; Olson et al., 2025).

The research identified four main factors which lead to student stress: excessive academic workload, frequent examinations, tight deadlines, and high expectations from lecturers and families (Neumann et al., 2016; Shamim et al., 2025). Students need to finish various assignments and join group projects while studying for tests at many universities within brief periods. The combination of part-time employment and extracurricular activities leads to students who experience increased stress and exhaustion (Chong et al., 2025; Barusi & Kurniawati, 2024).

The educational process for students has transformed because of both advanced technology and virtual learning systems. Digital tools enable users to access content anytime they want yet the tools create difficulties because they merge academic responsibilities with personal time. Students become mentally exhausted because they must remain reachable for academic duties which include emails and online discussions and learning management systems (Zhang et al., 2025; Olson et al., 2025).

University students now experience mental health problems which have become more apparent during the last few years. The majority of students experience anxiety which they describe as a personal mental health challenge.