Academic stress is one of the most consistently reported psychological challenges among university students worldwide, and a growing body of post-pandemic research has examined how it shapes learning and achievement. This paper reviews theoretical, physiological, and intervention-based literature published between 2023 and 2026 to synthesize current understanding of the relationship between academic stress and learning performance in higher education. Drawing on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and cross-sectional studies, the paper outlines the major conceptual models used to explain academic stress, summarizes emerging biological and cognitive mechanisms linking stress to reduced academic functioning, and examines the main categories of coping strategies and institutional interventions, including stress-management programs, mindfulness-based interventions, and physical-activity programs. The review finds that moderate levels of academic stress are associated with measurable declines in working memory, concentration, and course performance, while structured interventions produce small-to-moderate improvements in stress, anxiety, and depression outcomes, with more limited and inconsistent evidence for direct gains in grades. Persistent barriers to implementation include low help-seeking behavior, heterogeneous outcome measures, uneven access to services in lower-resource settings, and limited integration of stress-reduction programming into academic structures. The paper concludes that effective responses to academic stress require coordinated, multi-level strategies that combine individual coping skills with institutional and curricular reform, rather than relying on any single intervention type.