I really enjoy a nice kiss. Most people do!
It’s a fabulous way to pass the time and of all the vices,
kissing is relatively harmless. But did you know that kissing is
actually really good for you? Whether it’s a kiss driven by
passion, love, lust, or friendship, it is healthy to lock lips.
So if you’ve been stingy with your kisses, you may want to
loosen up a little bit. I’m not saying to grab the next guy
you see on the street, but a makeout session might be just what
the doctor, dentist and therapist ordered.
Humans are not alone in the urge to kiss. Birds tap their beaks
together. Chimpanzees french kiss and they have no concern for gender.
They just love making out! An elephant is so fresh that he will
put his trunk in another elephant’s mouth. And everybody has
seen dogs licking each other’s faces (and various other parts
of the body).
One anatomical reason we are all drawn to that connection is that
the lips are incredibly sensitive. We have more receptors on the
lips than most other places on the body. These receptors are actually
essential to survival. For our ancestors, the receptors on the lips
helped to identify whether a plant was edible or not. And lips are
what draw a baby to milk for its first survival instinct.
Kissing is also a bonding experience and people feel drawn to connect
with others. You completely occupy another person’s space
and allow another person very close. It feels good to hold someone’s
hand, to kiss, to connect. If you go too long without physical contact,
you can get severely depressed. People who are physically neglected
will often turn elsewhere to get that physical contact, whether
it’s by getting manicures or massages. But kissing is a lot
cheaper and a lot more fun!
Kissing is an excellent tension releaser. Bryant Stamford, who has
his PhD and is a professor at the University of Louisville, says
that kissing helps remarkably with stress management. Of all the
negativity we take in throughout the day, kissing offers a complete
release. Kissing produces increased levels of oxytocin, which is
a calming hormone. This hormone is produced synthetically to treat
depression, but your body automatically increases its levels of
oxytocin when you’re smooching. A good kissing session can
actually be as de-stressing and relaxing as a nice massage. It has
comparable benefits to meditation.
Stamford adds that kissing can be good exercise, too. I have to
agree with that one! You can really get your heart rate up after
a few minutes of making out. Stamford estimated that “during
a really passionate kiss, you might burn two calories a minute-double
your metabolic rate.” And if you get really into it, you could
compare a game of tonsil hockey with a brisk walk. Passionate kisses
exercise underlying muscles in the face that don’t get that
same workout in any other way. People who spend a lot of time kissing
actually may look younger simply because their facial muscles are
in good shape!
Kissing can also help prevent cavities. When you lean in for a kiss,
you increase the levels of saliva that flow throughout your mouth.
This washes away plaque, which might otherwise harden into cavities.
“Kissing is nature’s cleansing process,” says
dentist Heidi Hausauer. “Saliva washes out the mouth and helps
remove the cavity-causing food particles that accumulate after meals.”
Albert Einstein had a lot of brilliant thoughts in that wild head
of his, but one of my favorites pertains to the attention that ought
to be paid to a kiss. “Any man who can drive safely while
kissing a pretty girl,” he said, “is simply not giving
the kiss the attention it deserves.”
Einstein was a smart man and with an attitude like that, he probably
had excellent teeth and gums. So next time you’re contemplating
going to the gym, you might just want to pull somebody close and
kiss the night away. If everyone took this advice, we’d have
a glowing little town.
