{"id":417978,"date":"2026-08-27T06:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/417978\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T06:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:12:09","slug":"rest-more-perform-better-the-daily-texan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/417978\/","title":{"rendered":"Rest more, perform better \u2013 The Daily Texan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rest<\/a> <\/p>\n

Grind during the week, socialize on the weekends, rinse, repeat. UT perpetuates a work-hard-play-hard mindset, but where does rest come in? Hardly ever. At such a competitive university, students are expected to excel academically, but they also want a fun college experience, so rest is sacrificed to have both.<\/p>\n

College life gets busy from intense academics, extracurricular involvement and social pressure. UT students have to overachieve in high school to get in, and that mindset carries over to college. However, this level of work requires sacrifice, and according to a 2023 Healthy Horns survey, only 52.6%<\/a> of undergraduate students met sleep recommendations on weekdays.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest is more holistic in terms of that idea of restoration,\u201d said Brittany O\u2019Malley, director for prevention and wellness in HealthyHorns. \u201cWhat is helping restore your body and your mind so that you can operate in a way that feels good and functional each day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting seven to nine hours of sleep is recommended<\/a>, but experts say<\/a> there are other ways to rest, such as practicing mindfulness, processing your emotions or spending some time alone.<\/p>\n

All types of rest are imperative because they directly impact<\/a> academic performance and mental health. Without enough sleep and downtime, students are more likely to struggle with concentration, memory and motivation, making studying less effective. It also impacts students\u2019 ability to be present in fun moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A common misconception is that to be successful and have fun, there is no time for resting. Even with downtime, there\u2019s a feeling of guilt or pressure to do more. The reality is that rest is an integral part of success because it helps maintain brain function and mental health. By reframing rest as productive rather than lazy, students can optimize their academic goals as well as be present to enjoy the fun moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to succeed academically, your body needs to be able to function,\u201d said O\u2019Malley. \u201cRest, being something that you incorporate into your day, something that isn\u2019t just a luxury, can also help counter some of the impact that lack of sleep can also have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The irony of this column is that while writing about the importance of rest, I too feel guilty for resting. On a campus that glorifies exhaustion, I force myself to sit down for hours and write a column after a full day of back-to-back classes, intense workouts, running errands and navigating social issues. My body is sore, and my brain is tired. During the breaks I\u2019ve taken from writing this, a voice in the back of my mind tells me, \u201cYou should be doing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

I recognize this as an issue because I struggle with it, too. Just like everyone else on campus, I want academic and career success while maintaining a social life. I also sacrifice rest in order to achieve this. However, there\u2019s a huge difference between avoiding responsibility and regulating your nervous system. When these feelings arise, it begs the question: how can I give it my all if I don\u2019t have my all to give?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying to skip all your social functions and not work hard. Rather, allow yourself to recharge. Your academic performance and social life will thank you.<\/p>\n

Cintron is a journalism junior from Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Grind during the week, socialize on the weekends, rinse, repeat. UT perpetuates a work-hard-play-hard mindset, but where does…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-417978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}