Bathing Monkeys Teach Us How To Cope With Maine Winter Blues

If you believe in evolution, then it's generally assumed that we, as humans are more developed mentally and physically than monkeys are right? Well, in my opinion, Monkeys are smarter than humans and we may have devolved instead of evolved.

We can also learn about poop from Monkeys. I would like to let you in on a little secret, it's a misconception that all monkeys throw their poop for no reason at all. This is actually an intelligent behavior.

According to Mental Floss, this is mostly done by chimps in captivity because when they want to express their emotions and because they're caged, they don't have anything to throw, so they ding their dung at others.

Winter can get extremely cold in Maine and we often start to get the "winter blues". Our cold season lasts quite a while and we can't seem to make summer come any quicker, no matter how many of us wear flip-flops in the snow. The winter season could, however, become easier to deal with if you take a tip from a troupe of wild monkeys in Japan.

According to The Good News Network, a town in Japan, called Nagano, close to last year's Olympics site, a troupe of wild monkeys have become famous. The hot springs in that area have temps that reach 140 degrees, which is way too hot to soak in, so the monkeys started to take dips in the pools at nearby hotels.

However, due to obvious health hazards and the monkeys purely becoming a nuisance to tourists, the town decided to create an entire park featuring hot springs at a suitable temperature, 104-degrees, for these guys and girls.

Now, the monkeys bathe in man-made hot springs. The best part about all of this is that scientists started studying why the monkeys so eagerly need to bathe and it's because they have figured out how to relieve stress. It has been studied that cold weather can induce stress and by taking a bath, you are lowering your stress hormones. According to the same article, scientists found lower traces of, glucocorticoids, which are anxiety hormones.

Monkeys are onto something and we as Mainers have always struggled with winter months and how absolutely never-ending they are. I know that I normally try to go tanning in the winter to get that fake sun feeling to keep positive. However, bathing is something I never thought of. This probably rings true for sitting in a sauna!

When you're feeling low, because of the nippy weather, undress and hop into a nice hot bath. Post-bathing you will feel less stressed and you'll also smell good. So there's that!

Enjoy this incredible photo gallery I made of Monkeys playing in the hot springs, just because!

Top 10 Free Family Holiday Events Happening in Maine

Portland, Maine's Polar Express, you're missing out!