From tender pecks to full-on make-out sessions, kissing can feel wonderful and is a vital part of forming an intimate relationship with another human being. Although few people site the desire to improve their health when explaining why they decided to plant a wet one on their lover, it turns out, they honestly could.
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Kissing actually offers a host of health benefits. While your potential pucker partner probably won’t be swayed to engage in heavy petting by these benefits, they do serve as an added bonus, making kissing all the more beneficial.
Manage Your Blood Pressure
When you’re kissing – or, at least, when you’re doing it right – your heart races. This frantic flutter does more than just make you feel good; it also gives your heart muscle the exercise it needs to function properly. The more your heart exercises in this way, the lower your blood pressure will likely be, making kissing an easy and benefit rich way to keep your counts in the green.
Tighten Your Skin
Although it won’t give you as dramatic an effect as you would achieve by going under the knife, kissing could help tighten up some loose skin. When you kiss, you use muscles in your face and jaw. As you work these muscles, they tighten up, which can help you craft a cleaner jaw and cheek line without the hassle and pain associated with surgery.
Ease Aches And Pains
Most people’s natural response to feeling under the weather is to rapidly wave away romantic advances. While this response is logical, you’d actually be better off accepting the offered kisses. When you engage in a prolonged period of kissing, your blood vessels dilate. This helps ease minor aches and pains, from cramping to headaches.
Fight Viruses
Even though it may seem counter-intuitive, swapping spit could actually help stave off illnesses. Research published in “Medical Hypotheses” found that women who kissed partners infected with cytomegalovirus built up immunity to it. While kissing regularly won’t completely guarantee you don’t fall victim to the next round of ‘flu that’s going around, it definitely can help you build up some armor to protect against it.
Prevent Cavities
Aren’t your lover’s arms a cozier place to spend some time than the dentist’s chair? If you’re scared of the dentist – or you just don’t like wearing that paper bib – consider spending more time kissing and you may find that your next visit is easier. When you kiss, your body releases extra saliva. As this saliva runs over your teeth, it washes away plaque, reducing the likelihood that your dentist’s exam unearths a cavity.
Make Yourself Happy
Kissing makes you happy. It’s simple but oh-so-true. When you share intimate moments your body responds by releasing endorphins – a chemical associated with feelings of happiness and ease. This means that quickly curing your blues could be as simple as sharing a smooch with a trusted partner.
Stifle Stress
If stress if overtaking you and there isn’t anything you can do to rid your life of stress triggers, consider counteracting this stress with some simple kisses. Kissing stops – or at least slows – the release of the stress hormone, cortisol. This stress hormone negatively impacts everything, from your weight to your brain health, so keeping it at bay can prove exceptionally beneficial in a host of ways.
Burn Some Calories
If you try to trade your daily workouts for a kissing-only exercise regimen, you’ll likely find yourself packing on the pounds. However, you do burn more calories kissing than you do just sitting there – and you have more fun, too. Depending upon how intensely you are kissing with your partner, you can burn anywhere from eight to 16 calories per kiss.
Test Your Compatibility
You have a lot at stake when you pick a romantic partner. Not only will ending a protracted love affair leave you in an emotional lurch, depending upon how intricately your lives became intertwined, but it could also leave you with quite a mess to clean up. Fortunately, kissing is a simple and effective way to test the waters before you dive into your relationship. Particularly when sharing your early kisses, listen to your body and look for sparks. If you feel a pull towards this partner, you at least know that the chemistry is present, making moving forward a slightly sounder decision.
