The pressure of multiple exams and countless hours of studying often leads students to severe stress issues that can jeopardize both their grades and ability to learn.
The Office of Health Education reports that stress is among the top health issues for students nationwide, particularly around this time of year with exams around the corner.
"Normally we have a [massage] therapist on call six hours per week, but we are adding three more hours a week for finals," Associate Director of the Office of Health Education Kate Ward-Gaus said.
This is the third year that the Office of Health Education has utilized extra massage therapists during the end of the semester, and Ward-Gaus said that the service is frequently used.
The Reach-a-Peer Hotline is another outlet on campus which often deals with stressed-out students.
The hotline, which is open from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, allows students to confidentially talk about their problems with fellow students.
RAP-hotline president and College senior Amanda Fenster said that she could not release specific data because of privacy concerns. The hotline's staff supervisor said that call volume peaks in December.
"When the campus tends to be stressed about certain issues, we do see an increased usage of our service," Fenster said about the general call patterns she has observed.
Fenster said that the tactic used by hotline volunteers to help stressed students is "just really trying to deal with what is causing them to stress."
Many additional University departments offer programming on campus to help alleviate the problem of stress especially during finals time. Counseling and Psychological Services, the Penn Women's Center and the Office of Health Education all offer special stress-relieving programs.
