There’s nothing more euphoric than a great kiss and it’s been proven that kissing is good for you and your relationship. I thought I’d share my five favourite kissing facts.
1. It helps you work out if someone is a good match
When you lock lips with someone, five out of 12 of your cranial nerves are engaged, suggesting your brain is attempting to gather as much information as it can about the other person.
The lips don’t lie and just like the song goes, ‘it’s in his kiss’: you can actually tell if someone is going to be a good match for you from an exchange of saliva!
2. It can help you fall in love
When you kiss someone for the first time, a neurotransmitter in your brain called dopamine spikes and this is what causes you to crave more.
Dopamine can cause you to lose your appetite and have trouble sleeping. It’s what gives you that falling in love feeling where you can’t eat, sleep or think about anything other than your new amour.
3. It’s addictive (in a good way!)
Endorphins are chemicals released in our bodies after exercising; this is what makes you feel so good and energised after a work out.
Similarly, endorphins released during a make out session are responsible for making the experience of kissing so pleasurable and addictive.
4. It helps you bond with your partner
When we kiss oxytocin is also released, this is a hormone that helps create feelings of attachment, intimacy and bonding in relationships.
Once the honeymoon period is over, the influence of oxytocin takes over from dopamine to deepen and strengthen your relationship.
5. It reduces stress
Kissing lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. So in long term relationships this continues to drop making you feel increasingly safe and secure.
The longer you’ve been together, the bigger the decline in cortisol – therefore making you feel calmer and happier both in your relationship and as a person.
Above all, kissing is really fun and one of the many pleasures of being close to someone so enjoy it!
