The second-half of the semester can be a stressful time for Utah State University Students according to Counseling and Psychological Services.

With finals imminent, CAPS held a relaxation workshop on Tuesday to help students cope with the stress.

“When we get stressed we go into a fight or flight response,” said Tom Berry, the CAPS workshop instructor. “It gets in the way of people being able to focus, concentrate and sleep.”

Through his work with CAPS, Berry said he has seen many students suffer from ailments due to stress.

 “It’s a stressful time, and it can create a lot of wear and tear on the body,” Berry said. “This workshop is designed to give students relaxation techniques to help reduce the effects of stress.”

CAPS offers a variety of workshops in areas regarding student health throughout the year and the most popular workshops are often repeated each semester.

“We’ve found more we get more interest in workshops that deal with stress,” said Maren Seamons, a workshop coordinator for CAPS. “After mid-term has been a good time to do a relaxation workshop because students seem to need to calm down before finals.”

USU freshman Deanne Hess is one example of a student who has utilized these workshops to help enhance her academic performance.

“I went to a stress management workshop by CAPS earlier in the semester, and they recommended the relaxation workshop to me,” Hess said. “I’m really glad I came, I learned a lot of techniques and I think they will be really beneficial to me.”

The workshop was geared toward using relaxation to help students focus.

“I am absolutely going to use these techniques before my finals,” Hess said. “I’m glad I was able to take advantage of this workshop. I didn’t realize relaxing could help me so much with school.”