Danielle Thomson, 23, said she is feeling the stress of the new semester.

“I worked a lot over the summer and I thought I was stressed then, but registering, new classes and the thought of another 16 weeks is all starting to dawn on me now,” said Thompson, a senior theater arts major. She said she takes long bubble baths to relax, but only when she has time.

Thompson didn’t know having an orgasm might be a much quicker fix for back to school stress.

According to a study published in early 2006 in Biological Psychology, people who have sex before stressful events are more relaxed than people who don’t.

“There are many behaviors or activities that relax you. Laughter, physical exercise, humor, deep breathing and muscle stretching all play a part in reducing stress," said Albert Angelo, a health educator at SF State.

Sex and, particularly, orgasm combine all of these stress reducers.

The researchers at the University of Paisley, Scotland asked 24 women and 22 men to keep daily diaries of how often they had sex over two weeks. Participants who had sex had lower blood pressure than people who didn’t before stressful events, such as speaking in front of crowds or doing arithmetic out loud.

“I've heard orgasm defined as a discharge of neuromuscular tension. I think that's a good way to think about it,” Angelo said. “There is also a chemical change in your brain after orgasm.”

News of the study struck some students at SF State as a bit of a no-brainer.

“I don't have sex to relax per se, but I'm always up for it, so when I am stressed and have a headache I don't let it stop me,” said Mila Diaz, a 22-year-old social work graduate student. “I have observed that immediately I start to feel better.”

Angelo said what is important is for students to plan a break to do something relaxing, be it sex, meditation or deep breathing.

“Many times we don't plan a break — just to sit for 10 minutes and meditate or just relax because it's unscheduled time,” he said. “Taking that 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or hour to have an orgasm is a planned break in your day. Both of those components play a big part in helping someone relax.”

Erica Model, a 22-year-old senior human sexuality major, is the director of the Education Referral Organization for Sexuality on campus. The thought of taking an orgasm break in her stressful day brought a big smile to her face.

“I’ve been extremely stressed out since school started and I’ve noticed in the past week my urge to have an orgasm has increased a lot,” Model said. “Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m totally going to go home and masturbate.”

Other students say they notice benefits, but that sex is too personal just to use for relaxation.

“Sex has always been something more than just a way to relax,” 23-year-old junior cinema major, Kasra Shokravi, said. “Sex to me is by far the single most sacred thing two people can do, next to falling asleep with each other. Because of that, I would never have sex with just anybody.”

Shokravi forgets about his troubles by watching TV, hanging out with friends, or doing things that require little effort.

“Sex usually isn't a method I use for stress relief, though it is a byproduct of it,” he said.

Angelo cautions not to use any one method of stress relief all the time.

“Never simply do one thing to relieve another. Sex is not a fix for every time you're stressed. There are many ways to deal with stress,” Angelo said. “If you're stressed and want to take a break and spend some time with your partner, that's great. If you want to have sex and you feel more relaxed after, that's great.”

Angelo said simply using sex every time to relieve stress is similar to having a drink after a stressful day, and can lead to addiction.

“Sex is most relaxing when it's with the right person, at the right time, and in the right location — don't get kicked off campus for the wrong time and location,” Angelo said.

“That could lead to more stress.”