the Informer

SPENCER ALLAN BROOKS

The market is running low on energy drinks, the library is overcrowded and your classmates are reading directly off their PowerPoint presentations. It’s that time of year again: finals.

As the exam week rapidly approaches you might not have a lot of time for special nights with your significant other or your hookup buddy; realistically you probably don’t have a lot of time for anything.

But as you sit in front of your laptop while crying and calculating your expected GPA over and over again to see if skipping your final is worth it, you might want to think about some sex.

Studies have shown that sexual interactions can relieve stress. A study reported in the journal “Biological Psychology” took 24 women and 22 men and had them document their sexual activity. Researchers put the participants under stressful situations like public speaking and verbal arithmetic. Those who had sex responded to stress and performed better.

The reason behind this is because stress raises blood pressure and intercourse is associated with lower blood pressure.

Sex also releases endorphins into your system, the feel-good hormone. Not to mention, it will raise your self esteem. Then, when you take that final you know will be all essays, perhaps you’ll feel invincible, or at least satisfied.

If you are concerned about the calories you’ve been consuming during your late-night study sessions, sex can help you burn them off.

A half hour of sex can burn 85 calories or more; not a lot, but more than you would have burned by checking Facebook and Tumblr during your break.

You might be a bit skeptical of the idea of sex during finals week. After all, you do have six finals and three final papers to do, but the academic calendar will clear up come the start of finals week.

Besides study, many students are left with nothing to do throughout the week, leaving plenty of time for some loving. One might have a whole day with nothing to do but cram a textbook into their brain; that’s the perfect opportunity to engage in some coitus.

Also, during finals week, no one questions where you’ve been when you come strolling home in the wee-hours of the morning. If they do, just tell them you were at a study group. During final exams, the walk of shame doesn’t exist.

All of those late nights take a toll on your physical health as well. Sex can counteract that, because it has been known to improve one’s immune system.
Having sex once or twice a week has been known to raise levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin.

A study done at Wilkes University proved this by taking saliva samples of over 100 college students who accounted their sexual activity.

So, as you continue to freak out about the oodles of tests in your future, just remember, this could be the perfect time to live out your fantasy of sex in the library.

That’s if the smell of old literature turns you on, or something like that.