Emotional exhaustion has emerged as a significant psychological concern among university students due to increasing academic demands, performance expectations, digital overload, social pressures, financial concerns, and uncertainty regarding future careers. Persistent emotional depletion may adversely influence students’ academic engagement, concentration, motivation, psychological well-being, and overall educational experience. The present study examines the prevalence of emotional exhaustion among university students and explores the mental recovery strategies associated with improved psychological functioning.
A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional research design was adopted. Data were obtained from 320 undergraduate and postgraduate students through a structured questionnaire assessing emotional exhaustion, sleep and rest, mindfulness and relaxation, physical activity, social support, recreational disengagement, and perceived mental recovery. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the relationships among the study variables. The findings indicate that students experienced a moderate-to-high level of emotional exhaustion, while sleep and restorative rest, mindfulness-based practices, social support, physical activity, and recreational disengagement were positively associated with perceived mental recovery.
Emotional exhaustion demonstrated a substantial negative association with mental recovery. The findings emphasize the importance of developing institutional interventions that combine stress prevention with practical recovery strategies. Universities should promote psychologically supportive environments, balanced academic workloads, accessible counselling services, recovery-oriented education, and healthy lifestyle practices to strengthen students’ emotional resilience and sustainable academic functioning.