[ Golden Gater Online - December 11, 1997 ]
Kathy Stevens
staff writer
Forget eating healthy and light schedules that the experts advise to prepare for the pressures of finals week when a little heavy breathing is the ticket for stress reduction, according to some SF State students.
"Sex definitely helps me relax more and gives me the ability to concentrate," says Eamon Kavanagh, a 28-year-old German/recreational studies major who's gearing up for five finals. But Kavanagh warns those who don't already have a sexual relationship to beware.
"If there are a lot of good-lookin' women in class, and you don't have a sexual relationship, it's distracting," Kavanagh says. "You get a stiffie ... if you have a self-navigating, heat-seeking missile in one hand and a pencil in the other ... what's your priority going to be?"
Distraction is a major problem for students during finals. They can always find something better to do, but when time runs out and pressure mounts, a healthy lunch doesn't quite do the trick the way a quick love bump will.
"Sex is a great stress release," psychology major Susan McNeece says. She warns students to be cautious of various stages in their relationships before they take a tumble for relaxation. "If it's a new relationship then all you can think about is having sex -- you want it all the time and you'll be distracted. But someone that's been around for awhile, you just say 'c'mon, I need to relax.' "
And for students who simply want to turn off the equations, historical facts and textbook jargon that keeps them wide-eyed and starring at the ceiling around 3 a.m., sex becomes a sleep-inducing drug and a catch-all sedative for the finals crunch.
"It helps me go to sleep," says John Richards, a recreation and leisure studies major. The 25-year-old junior faces three essays and a multiple-choice exam to end his semester.
"I get all tensed-out and can't sleep. I get too alert. Sex helps release inner pressures," Richards says.
The three agreed that students should be aware of distractions and keep them to a minimum while cramming for finals. Kavanagh says the J. Paul Leonard Library is too distracting. If the ol' hedge needs trimming, it can seem like a 9-to-1 ratio of women to men and he can't help but fantasize.
"My mind starts wandering and pretty soon I'm meeting them in strange places ... I stay away from the library." He suggests that students find places where these distractions are less likely.
Foreplay for finals studies, these students say, should include a big breakfast -- maybe Bangor's and mash --and a full day pounding the books followed by a beer and a frolic.
"Beer might not be good for studying, but it can be good for sex," McNeece says. These student experts say that those having access to safe sex should "pump and run" or "huddle and cuddle" to wither the stress and ready the studious for scantrons, bluebooks and the ultimate: take-home exams.
[ Golden Gater - December 11, 1997 ]