NextGen Day
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What Does a Brain-Healthy Campus Look Like — and How Do We Build One?
BrainHealth Week kicks off with NextGen Day at UT Dallas, bringing together educators, community leaders and students to establish best practices across campuses.
Gain insights from students engaged in the Brain Health Prize — a cash award competition seeking to change how college campuses think about stress.
Monday, Feb 23, 2026
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST
UT Dallas, Davidson Gundy Center
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Neuroscience shows your stress level has a "sweet spot," a beneficial degree that can actually boost focus and productivity.
Graph showing the stress curve, based on the Yerkes-Dodson Law of Arousal and Performance. The stress curve shows that too little stress, as well as too much stress, can inhibit optimal brain performance.
Stress is inevitable around college campuses – students need to know that not all stress is bad. Universities offer excellent resources to help students manage stress, but what’s often overlooked is that the right amount of stress can enhance learning and performance.
The contest itself provides a chance for students to boost brain health:
- Sharpening Clarity by coming up with novel ideas and solutions.
- Strengthening Connectedness by working on something meaningful with real purpose.
- Improving Emotional Balance by rethinking how to handle stress.
With the theme "Stress in Action, the 2026 contest emphasized the concept of eustress, the optimal stress level for motivation and efficiency. College students were challenged to understand where they fall on the stress curve, so that optimal stress levels become a tool for growth rather than a source of overwhelm. Educational resources were shared to help reframe stress and anxiety as potential superpowers, build the mindset to turn pressure into performance, and spark a shift on campus.
About the psychology behind eustress
The Brain Health Prize
No one understands campus life better than college students
This new contest empowers college students to transform life on their campus by making proactive brain health part of the conversation. The 2026 contest sought the most innovative implementable plan to change the mindset around optimal stress on college campus.
The student/team with the winning concept receives a $5K award (half personal stipend; half implementation funds), alongside opportunities for recognition, mentorship and networking, and the potential to create a lasting legacy.
The Brain Health Prize is brought to you by the Brain Healthy Campus Collaborative.