Animals can be great antidote to workplace stress!

Watching fish swim, patting a kitty, walking with a dog – it can all help to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and diminish the symptoms of anxiety. Ahhhh….what could be nicer?

If your library has a fish tank, or a resident cat, or a therapy dog who visits and wouldn’t mind taking a break from listening to kids read so she can listen to librarians talk about their day – you are set! If you don’t have one at hand, there are plenty of other ways to watch some relaxing fish. Many aquariums have live cams, where you can enjoy watching some fish swimming all over the world!

There are a variety of live cams to watch from the Aquarium of the Pacific, with views of penguins above and below the water, jellyfish, sea dragons, and sharks.

Do you need to watch river otters to make your day brighter? You can do that at the Tennessee aquarium! They have other cams to watch for relaxing video, including a Secret Reef cam filled with gorgeous fish.

Do you prefer your relaxation with furrier creatures? No problem!

• Check out baby kittens
• Or assistance puppies working and playing
• Something larger maybe? You can watch a rotating vision of African animals highlights in the wild
• right here in Minnesota you can check out the International Wolf Center in Ely; not always a lot of wolves visible, but watching nature is relaxing too! And click on the second cam to watch the retired wolf enjoy his rest.
• It take some patience, but if you like hummingbirds there is a cam for you too

If you prefer watching crowds of humans as your tool for relaxation, you might enjoy watching tourists in Rome with a “magnificent view of the Pantheon, the fountain and the obelisk of Ramses II in Piazza della Rotonda.” (You might pair this with enjoying some nice gelato, for a maximum relaxation effect!)

Do you have a favorite animal, or animal video, for stress reduction? Tell us about it in the comments!