The fall semester is winding down, but that means stress is rising for many students.

Preparing for the holidays, studying for finals and worrying about grades increase the amount of stress that teens feel. And, according to a study by the American Psychological Association, teens are already more stressed out than adults.

Teens reported their stress level was 5.8 on 10-point scale, compared with 5.1 for adults, according to the 2014 study, Stress in America. The study also found that that 30 percent of teens reported feeling sad or depressed because of stress and 31 percent felt overwhelmed. “On a scale of one through ten on how stressed I am about finals and everything I’m probably a 40,” said sophomore Sydney Hodge. “I feel like I have a huge homework load every night, and it stresses me out because I have to make room to do the things I like to do.”                            This stress level may be even higher for students on a competitive academic track. A study of elite private schools last year found that 49 percent of the students feel “a great deal of stress” on a daily basis. Half of the students said they do an average of three or more hours of homework a night, and 26 percent of the students said they had been diagnosed with depression due to the stress.                                                                                                    There is no way to eliminate stress, experts say. But there are ways of maintaining a manageable stress level.                                                                                                          Getting a little stressed out when studying for six different classes is pretty normal, but it can also lead you to get distracted from what you’re working on. Doing something and taking a lot of breaks helps out. Studies do show that playing with animals, like dogs, and petting them reduces stress for humans.                                                                                                      “Playing with animals, mostly dogs, helps me forget my problems and relieves my stress for just a few moments, because they’re are always so happy and it makes me happy,” said sophomore Lily Peck.                                                                                                                              Another idea for reducing stress is to exercise. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, exercise improves the mind and to many physicians exercise is considered vital to maintaining mental fitness and reduces stress.                                          There are many things someone can do if they’re artistic. Doodling and drawing in your breaks reduces stress, and also listening to your favorite song that has no words is good too.                 If someone is really stressed out talking about it with someone, doesn’t have to be professional, really can help.                                                                                                                 Counselor Chris Brownfield, shared some tips on how to reduce the test anxiety people have when taking a test; she said, “Have a good night’s sleep and get a ton of rest, also eat a good breakfast, I always encourage students to talk to their teachers on what they can do to improve their grade, but don’t wait last minute to talk to them.”                                                             There is a massive increase in appointments near the end of the semester, “People rush in, for schedule changes, help in test taking, and a lot more, it’s very busy near finals,” said Brownfield. If you keep in your emotions in could lead to dangerous situations so talking about helps. Stress can cause eating disorders like weight loss and weight gain, also it controls your emotions; no part of your body is really immune to it. Some systems can be pretty serious so it’s good to let it out and get rid of it.                                                                                                                   Pure joy and happiness gets rid of a lot of it. The stress hormone in your body is reduced when you occupy yourself with something that you like, which could be painting, baking, anything really it’s what you like, just find something that works for you.