Kissing for Better Health
PUBLISHED BY:Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright
Pucker up for health promotion? That’s right, one of the best-kept secrets about kissing is that it’s critical to human health. Recent research(1) published in the Western Journal of Communication reports that affectionate behavior like kissing has stress-relieving effects. In testing the effects of romantic kissing on 52 healthy adults’ blood lipids, perceived stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction, investigators found that those in the experimental group – as in those who engaged in increased kissing with their spouse or live-in partner – experienced improvements when it came to relationship satisfaction, total serum cholesterol, and perceived stress.
This complements earlier research out of Lafayette College, which found that kissing provides stress relief in reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol in both men and women, giving whole new meaning to the phrase “kiss and make up.” Along with backrubs/massages, cuddling/holding, and hugging, kissing on the lips or face has also been found(2) to assist conflict resolution, ultimately providing psychological relief and well-being for couples.
For females, kissing can additionally provide mental comfort in enabling them to assess their relationship, their partner’s level of commitment in particular. Her lover’s ability to maintain his or her style or frequency of kissing is an indicator to her that her lover is still interested.
In many ways, kissing is the glue of our interpersonal relationships. Along with acts like hugging, hand holding, and saying “I love you,” it’s a way we initiate and maintain the development of a relationship, helping lovers to feel bonded over the long-haul. Along with other forms of physical affection, it is highly correlated with relationship and partner satisfaction, with such satisfaction having a domino effect, contributing to healthier relationships and better overall well being.
With kissing a courtship ritual that happens between romantic or sexual partners in over 90% of cultures, seems many lovers are onto the physical and emotional benefits of locking lips, if even on a subconscious level. It’s a sex act many people can’t get enough of, with Finnish research(3) in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy confirming that both men and women want more kissing (as well as petting, sexual petting, sexual fantasies, oral sex, and vaginal intercourse). With sexual satisfaction associated with relationship satisfaction, kissing is seen as a major way we realize our sexual desires. A good smooch acts as a mating strategy that sets fire to sexual arousal and one’s willingness to consider sexual possibilities. This starts with potential partners and, funny enough, concerns over health.
From peck to slip of the tongue, kissing is a means with which we size up mate compatibility, with heterosexuals using it subconsciously to assess possible health problems, a person’s reproductive status, and genetic compatibility. Such are all determined thanks to the smell, taste, and other qualities of the kissing experience. The exchange of sebum during a make out session further gives lovers even more hormonal and pheromonal information that encourages or discourages more action. The brain practically gets orbited into overdrive when lips meet since a huge amount of this organ is devoted to picking up a great amount of tactile and chemical data, messages enriched even more with a lover’s bodily cues.
Not surprisingly, evolutionary experts have wondered if kissing is one way humans determine genetic compatibility and reproductive potential. Wet kissing may, in fact, be a more exact way people unconsciously receive more information as to the biological ramifications of locking loins. This becomes even more fascinating in considering that male saliva has measurable amounts of the sex hormone testosterone, which impacts libido, and that men like to go for the moist kiss.
Males are also likelier than females to be more into swapping spit during a make out session. They tend to take the lead on wet, open mouth and “French” (tongue) kissing. Researchers speculate that this may be due to males having less acute senses of taste and smell than females, with males requiring more saliva in assessing their mates. With previous research indicating that a female’s breath actually changes with her menstrual cycle, a male may be assessing her fertility on a subconscious level.
Needless to say, we exchange huge amounts of information when lips meet. Whether used as a major mate assessment tool or a means to fuel a passionate relationship, seems that one’s health ultimately reaps the rewards more than anything. So be sure to pucker up and keep kissing!
Picture By: taniasaiz
[YF1]Floyd et al., 2009
[YF2]Gulledge, et al., 2003, American Journal of Family Therapy
[YF3]Santtila, et al., 2008