Oh, these short February days in New York… It gets dark so early and we don’t want to do too much of anything outdoors because it’s too cold or too windy or too rainy. Going straight home, having a warm meal and then snuggling on a couch in front of TV sounds much more appealing. Especially because that couch is so comfy. But don’t just sit there! Lean over and kiss whomever is there with you. 🙂 That’s Dr. Inna’s health tip du jour. Isn’t it a good one? Quite easy and ever so fun to do!
A kiss may not seem like obvious medicine, but it is. Because a kiss isn’t just a kiss. It’s so much more. Medically speaking—yes, this advice is based on solid science—there are awesome health benefits to kissing. Men are going to like this one: an open-mouth kiss with tongues dancing around increases the probability of mating. It’s a good bet that a lot of women will get on board with this too. So, kiss away!
Kissing also provides us with valuable information about our possible intimate partner, and we can even assess them based on that first kiss. It’s a good clue: a crappy kisser often translates to a crappy lover—so go ahead and lean in for that kiss. You’re just doing research! (wink)
Subconsciously, we value kissing not only to find out if we want to mate in the moment, but also if we want to keep this person for a longer term mate. But for more than evaluative purposes, kissing is also healthy. Isn’t that great news!
To begin with, romantic kissing leads to the production of love hormones like oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine. These chemicals, in turn, boost our immune system. In robust condition, your own inner army (your immunity) can fight off almost any germ. Furthermore, studies reveal that partners who kiss more report a lower level of stress, higher relationship satisfaction, and they even show improvements in cholesterol level. Have a look here to see a study (one of many): http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10570310902856071
In addition, when we exchange saliva with our chosen partner, we exchange our microbes. That might sound icky at first, but that’s a good thing if you’re smooching a healthy individual. Through this pleasurable meeting, the microbes in our own immunity system secrete “soldier cells” in response to the microbes of our kissing partner, which in turn leads to diversified defense molecules in our body.
Moreover, if you need more fact-based evidence, the mucous membrane inside the mouth is highly permeable to the hormones we’re receiving from the mouth fluids of the partner we kiss, and it’s actually beneficial for us to get some extra hormones from an extraneous natural source.
If that isn’t enough, kissing stimulates our facial muscles, especially those jawline and neck muscles. This nature-made facial lift can be more effective than cosmetic injections in the area. And, kissing is for free!
On top of that, those love hormones I mentioned earlier? They help regulate your blood pressure too. So, kissing is one of the best no-cost organic medicines without side effects. It gets even better. For those of you having trouble getting to the gym on certain days, go for the kissing workout instead. You burn 1-2 calories per minute just kissing on that couch—and passionate kissing increases it to 10-15 calories per minute. What a great alternative to a gym workout!
And finally, kissing promotes a bond and connection with our intimate partner, and when we feel we have that unmistakable unique connection with our special someone, then on that day the sky is the limit to what we can achieve!
Here’s to more kissing! Happy Valentine’s Day!
So very truly yours,
Dr. Inna
