Kashmir's Rising Crisis of Cognitive Fatigue

Two stories of burnout reveal a growing challenge, and hope in Kashmir through simple, science-backed interventions.

- Ansar Hussain Dar

For three weeks before his entrance exams, Adil Khan, 19, sat in his little room in Srinagar, flipping physics notes long into the night.

He had already spent 12-hour days in a coaching center. Then came the haze: He forgot formulas, his head throbbed, and a 90-minute test felt like a slog.

"My brain just shut down. I couldn't think," Adil said. The pressure was immense, but his coping strategy only made things worse: late-night study, coffee-fueled mornings, and no breaks.

In Anantnag district, 34-year-old Naila Gani cares for her elderly father who has Parkinson's. She handles his medicine, meals, and physical therapy from dawn till dusk. There is no respite.

"I feel awake but empty by evening," Naila said. "I forget small things, like where I placed my keys or what I was cooking."

She is not alone. Caregivers across the valley report similar feelings of mental emptiness after long days with little rest or recognition.

What people often call feeling mentally tired is actually cognitive fatigue, a condition when your brain gets foggy and it's harder to think clearly or make decisions after working hard for a long time. Tasks that once took minutes now drag into hours. Memory falters, emotions become sharper, and mistakes seep through.

Repeated exam stress, caregiving demands, remote work calls, and social media bingeing are draining people's mental reserves in Kashmir.