It’s obvious that a good smooch feels great, but did you know that it’s also good for your health? Sweet kisses with your main squeeze can actually help you live a longer and healthier life.
#1. Kissing boosts your immunity
This one is common knowledge by now — when two people engage in a hot, passionate French kiss, up to 80 million bacteria can be transmitted between their mouths. This is good news, because it diversifies and expands our “microbiomes”, and as humans, we rely heavily on the billions of tiny little organisms living inside us to keep us healthy.
#2. Kissing stimulates the brain
While your lips are getting some intimate action, your nerves fire on a massive scale, affecting your brain in rather positive ways. When kissing, the body releases a number of hormones such as adrenaline, which gets your heart pumping. You’ll also notice an increase in the happy chemicals dopamine and serotonin.
Your cortisol (stress) levels plummet, your body releases endorphins, and oxytocin — the love hormone. Not only does this cocktail fight depression, but it also improves productivity and focus.
#3. Kissing is good for dental health
It’s practically a fact — more kissing means fewer cavities. Kissing increases salivation, which helps the mouth protect itself from bacteria that could potentially damage gums and teeth. A smooch a day might not keep the dentist away, but it will help keep your teeth healthier for longer.
#4. Kissing is a way to affirm your relationship
One of the major hormones released while kissing is oxytocin. Research suggests the hormone is heavily linked with commitment and monogamy. Plenty animals kiss, yet only a few species possess the trait of having long-term partners. The science is saying that there is correlation between monogamy and high levels of oxytocin.
Kissing is also a subconscious assessment tool, letting you know whether you’re compatible with the person you’re smooching. Whenever you kiss your partner, the bond between the two of you becomes just that little bit stronger.
#5. Kissing deals with stress
Activities like kissing change your mind’s chemistry and push down your cortisol (stress) levels, allowing you to relax and reduce tension. The saliva involved in passionate smooching also numbs physical pain — adrenaline and norepinephrine helps with that, too.
#6. Kissing boosts your sex drive
When kissing, testosterone (the male hormone) passes between two people. Testosterone is linked with a stronger sex drive, and evolutionary psychologists theorize that the reason men enjoy sloppier kisses and women who open their mouths more while kissing is because this increases their chances of transferring testosterone to their partner, better priming them for what might come next.
It’s no secret that kissing also prepares the body for sex. While there are romantic kisses, and platonic kisses, lusting kisses are something else. They’re the ones that get your heart pumping, dilate your pupils, and transport you far, far away.
#7. Kissing burns calories
While it may be a negligible amount, it’s still something. Try moving around, and keep at it until the two of you start to breathe heavily. A vigorous French kiss activates all of your facial muscles, which gives you a more youthful and happy look — and that’s always a plus, isn’t it?
#8. Kissing tests compatibility
Studies suggest that kissing, among other things, evolved as a tool for people to assess the health and genetic compatibility of their kissing partner. If you don’t enjoy your partner’s kiss, statistics show that your relationship is much more likely to fall apart — and heartbreak is most definitely not a good way to live a long, healthy life.