Kissing - What Is So Great About It?

A study was conducted wherein couples were asked to kiss more frequently than what they normally would. Over a six week period, the study reflected significant drop in stress levels among the participants. The science behind the fact is that kissing helps lower the level of "cortisol" in your body, thus helping you to relax. Also, it helps to secrete feel good chemicals in your brain such as serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin which are essential to your happiness.

When you kiss, your blood vessels dilate which helps lower your blood pressure. This dilation of your blood vessels also helps to relieve pain, particularly headaches and menstrual cramps. Kissing increases saliva production in your mouth which washes off the plaque on your teeth. This in turn fights cavities. Having said that, you can get cavity causing bacteria via a kiss if the one you're kissing practices poor oral hygiene.

Kissing involves serious muscle power. Research says that kissing mainly involves the muscle around your mouth, called the "orbicularis oris". One kiss involves the coordination of 146 muscles in total, which include 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscles. The "orbicularis oris" is informally called the "kissing muscle".

When you kiss your partner, the "adrenaline" hormone gets released from your body which helps improve heart health. This hormone helps your heart to pump more blood, thus resulting in improved blood circulation in your body. In the process, a healthy blood pressure level is also maintained.