WHY KISSING IS GOOD FOR YOU

Kissing is good for you.

Could it be true? There’s so many things we love, from chocolate to chips, sirloin to Southern Comfort, that are bad for us.

So can making out … make us healthy?

It seems it can. In fact, a kiss a day will keep the doctor away.

(Unless you’re married to one, that is.)

Here’s 8 reasons why.

1. Kissing is good for your dental hygiene

Even Zombies need love
photo: Kenny Louie

This is something your dentist may not have told you, but it seems that kissing increases saliva production.

Why is that good? Saliva washes away the bacteria that can cause cavities, tooth decay and plaque build up.

(Though it’s not recommended in place of flossing.)

2. It will make you look younger

photo: David Dennis

Okay, it’s not quite like a work out in the gym but think of kissing as Pilates for the face. When you kiss you actually exercise thirty-four facial muscles - including the orbicularis oris, the one that helps you pucker - as well as one hundred and twelve postural muscles. It will keep your cheeks looking tight. Getting face action is better than getting Botox.

3. It could even help you lose weight

Our normal metabolic rate is one calorie a minute - during kissing that rises to two or even three, if you’re really passionate about it. It’s still well short of the 11.2 you work off on a treadmill but hey - no one said you couldn’t kiss on a treadmill, did they?

4. It reduces stress big time

As Frankenfurter says in the Rocky Horror Picture Show: ‘it’s good for relieving your … tension.’

And it really is. Sex and sensual touch have a profound effect on our well being. When we’re connecting with someone we feel deeply for, it’s like a meditation, only with saliva. We stop thinking about worries; kissing keeps us in the present moment and brings about a lot of the physiological changes that deep meditation produces. It also lowers blood pressure and decreases levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. So a fluttering heart is a healthy heart.

5. It reduces pain

Do you have sore feet or a sore back from standing up all day? A blinding headache from sitting in front of that computer terminal? Take 2 or more kisses and skip the glass of water.

Kissing releases natural chemicals in the body called endorphins that are more powerful than morphine.

A wordless conversation with the lips will also spike the body’s feel good chemicals such as dopamine and oxytocins.

6. It boosts the immune system

photo: Brocken Inaglory

Swapping spit means swapping germs and yes, there are some things you have to be mindful of, such as flu and cold sores. You also should be extremely careful of other people’s food allergies - if you’ve been eating peanuts or shellfish and then kiss someone who is hypersensitive to those foods, the results could be deadly.

But outside of those situations - think of sucking face as a vaccination you get with a tongue instead of a needle. Sure it exposes you to someone else’s germs but that’s a good thing. Your body will start to make antibodies which in turn leads to higher immunity levels and prevents illness.

7. It helps your husband/boyfriend live longer

Kissing him long and often can increase his life span by as much as five years. Studies have shown that married men live longer than single men, especially those who kiss their wife or girlfriend goodbye in the morning.

Unfortunately it’s not the same for the girls. No one knows why this is so. Perhaps we’re just not as good at kissing as you are!