Student-led initiative tackles youth burnout and sleep deprivation in Kuwait

The Kuwait Youth Health Coalition (KYHC), founded by local youth, recently conducted a localized health and lifestyle audit that evaluated 32 high school students who represent both private/ bilingual (68.8%) and public/ government (31.3%) schools across Kuwait. The findings reveal a gap between the heavy academic demands and their wellbeing. According to the audit, 71.9% of the students receive six hours of sleep or less on a school night, with an alarming 25% getting under five hours. When facing severe fatigue and brain fog during their study sessions, 65.6% of students reported handling burnout by just “pushing through without stopping,” while 56.2% rely on high-caffeine energy drinks, coffee, or sugary snacks to get through it.

Furthermore, prolonged static study habits have taken a toll physically as well. Over half of the students (53.1%) reported experiencing chronic neck, upper back, or lower back stiffness, while 43.8% rarely take any type of physical movement breaks during their long study sessions that last longer than 2 hours. “Academic success shouldn’t come at the expense of a student’s long-term health,” said Melanie Corrales, Founder and Lead at KYHC. “Most students don’t realize that forcing themselves through hours of uninterrupted sitting is actually just restricting blood circulation, and drops the focus and is what causes the energy crashes. I’ve been through it, and you probably did too. Which is why we wanted to build simple, evidence-based tools that can help them reset and protect their future self while achieving their academic goals.” In response to the data, KYHC has rolled out practical resources that are for Kuwait’s youth: