It's considered first base for some and a common everyday greeting for others. Kissing is not only a grand gesture of romantic inner feelings displayed outwardly toward the one you lust over, just like hugging, it is very good for your health. Below are reasons why you should choose to kiss a little more often. Not just good for your ego and mojo, it is good for your overall wellbeing! So do what that classic Big Red gum commercial jingle says, and "kiss a little longer, say good-bye a little longer. . . "
Hey, who doesn't want to boost their immunity?! According to the Journal of Medical Hypotheses, kissing may increase a woman’s immunity from Cytomegalovirus. Cytomegalovirus, which is contracted through mouth to mouth contact, can cause infant blindness and other birth defects if the mother is a carrier during pregnancy (otherwise the bug is relatively harmless in adults). So strengthen the body’s defenses and pucker up more often!
According to anthropologist Helen Fisher, kissing can be used as a “mate assessment tool.” Much of the cortex is devoted to picking up sensations from around the lips, cheeks, tongue and nose. Out of 12 cranial nerves, five of them are picking up the data from around the mouth. It is built to pick up the most sensitive feelings—the most intricate tastes and smells and touch and temperature. And when you’re kissing somebody, you can really hear them and see them and feel them. So kissing is not just kissing. It is a profound advertisement of who you are, what you want and what you can give.
Other researchers note that kissing is biology’s way of determining who in nature you are most genetically compatible with. “At the moment of the kiss, there are hard-wired mechanisms that assess health, reproductive status and genetic compatibility,” says Gordon G. Gallup Jr., a professor of evolutionary psychology at the State University of New York at Albany who studies reproductive competition and the biology of interpersonal attraction. “Therefore, what happens during that first kiss can be a make-or-break proposition.”
There's good news for all you counting calories! Depending on different reports, anywhere from 2 to 6 calories is burned per minute. Sure, it's not a "you can eat whatever you want now" card, but a few hour’s worth of locking lips may burn off half a handful of chocolates or half a glass of wine.
Scientific studies report kissing as a great way to increases the levels of oxytocin in the body. Oxytocin is the body’s natural calming chemical. Kissing also increases endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals. Not only that, swapping spit also noted to increase dopamine, which aids in feelings of romantic attachment.
Kissing generally uses one muscle, called the orbicularis oris that is responsible for puckering your lips when you kiss. The science of kissing itself is called philematology. Don’t underestimate the workout your mouth gets during a make out session. Researchers say people use almost 30 muscles while kissing and the smooching helps keep the cheeks tighten up.
Sources: yourtango.com, webmd.com, bestkisses.com
