One positive thing about…jellyfish

For the past 7 years jellyfish invasions have been an annual event in Japan and China. Off the coast of Japan’s Wakasa Bay the swarms have cut fishing by 30 percent, costing the industry nearly $330 million and the creatures themselves have increased in number up to 500 million. The rapid growth rate of jellyfish clusters has been attributed to warming ocean temper

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atures and a thinning population of predators.
 
2009 has produced the largest jellyfish invasions yet. Environmentalists see this as a bad omen, fishermen worry for the future of their trade, seafaring hobbyists fear stings and pescetarians, major mark-ups of market price.
 
On a global level, today’s economic and environmental climate is nothing short of depressing. That’s common knowledge, so let’s focus on the bright side. While it seems nothing good can come from this new phenomena there’s always a silver lining. The one positive thing about jellyfish—they’re scientifically proven to produce feelings of tranquility.
 
Ongoing studies at Japan’s Enoshima Aquarium, in partnership with Jikei and Nihon Universities, show that watching jellyfish is literally drool-inducing: It stimulates the production of a compound in the saliva associated with relaxation.
 
A growing trend among Japanese career girls is to indulge in a jellyfish sleepover. The practice has become popular enough that demand for the aquarium's $120 overnight package is so high, its 30 weekly spots are distributed by lottery. The lucky winners with sleeping bags get prime slumber space before a wall of undulating jellyfish—an experience some liken to actually floating inside the tank. Also included: a Lomi Lomi massage class, bento-box meals, and a chance to reach in and touch a live specimen.
 
The Japanese rank third in the world in terms of the longest work week and some working women consider relaxation methods crucial to job productivity. Now if Japanese fishermen could devise a plan to exploit the gelatinous blobs crowding nets, their pockets would be flush and Japans corporate workers would reach all time highs for relaxed productivity.

Do you have any tried and true ways to relax? Keep reading for more de-stress routines.

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