Generally, kissing plays a role in bonding and is, undeniably, a factor to consider in maintaining good health. For example, a typical French kiss moves 29 muscles in the face. Our brains also have special neurons that help us locate each one’s lips in the dark.
Here are some facts you should know about kissing:
Kissing doesn’t just feel good, it’s a beneficial sport for you. It releases epinephrine into your blood, makes your heart pump faster, and resultantly reduces cholesterol. Kissing also helps to build up certain hormones like testosterone.
According to Dr. Mercola, ‘mucous membranes inside the mouth are permeable to hormones such as testosterone…Through open-mouth kissing, men introduce testosterones in a woman’s mouth and this is absorbed through mucous membranes, thus, increasing arousal and the chances that she will engage in reproductive behaviour.’
Interestingly, the author of “Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about One of Life’s Sweetest Pleasures,” explained that a kiss a day can really keep the doctor away. Speaking on CNN, Andréa Demirjian (the author) argued that kissing helps you fight cavities.
Kissing is good for your teeth—as long as the two of you are fairly hygienic. When you kiss, saliva production increases in your mouth, and this helps to wash away plaque on your teeth that may lead to cavities. That said, cavity-causing bacteria can also be transmitted via a kiss, especially if the person you’re kissing has poor oral habits. It’s even been shown that cavity-causing bacteria can spread from a mother’s kiss to her baby.
Kissing prompts your brain to release a happy elixir of feel-good chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. This isn’t only important for your happiness; it also may also help to strengthen your relationship.
“‘This [oxytocin] is the hormone of love, and the better the oxytocin levels, the more capacity for love,’ explains psychotherapist Arthur Janov, Ph.D., author of ‘The Biology of Love’ and the director of the Primal Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
‘We have found that those who cannot commit in a love relationship are low in oxytocin.’”
Men and women tend to regard kissing in this realm differently, with men being more likely to initiate kissing before sex and women more likely to do so afterward.
“Women use the intensity and frequency of kissing to evaluate a man’s suitability for short-term relationships as well as judging the potential of a short-term relationship evolving into a long-term relationship.
