The importance of kissing in relationships is well-documented. In fact, research shows that 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women have found themselves less attracted to a potential partner after a bad first kiss.
Whether you refer to it as smooching, snogging, tonsil hockey, or making out, here are some crazy facts about kissing you likely never knew, from the surprising health benefits of locking lips to details on the first-ever kiss in film history.
1. Kissing boosts your immune system
According to a study from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, a 10-second kiss transfers as many as 80 million bacteria between you and your partner. If the idea makes you want to run to the bathroom to brush your teeth, hold on a moment.
As it turns out, germ exposure can provide a healthy boost to your immune system. Swapping spit means swapping germs, and that is nature's natural form of vaccination. Being exposed to others' germs causes your body to make antibodies against those germs, which can in turn lead to immunity and prevent illness. Make sure your partner isn't already sick before you pucker up.
2. Kissing can improve your dental health
Dr. Sivan Finkel, who specializes in aesthetic and general dentistry at the Dental Parlour in New York City, says that increased saliva production generated by kissing can be a great boon to your oral health. Kissing stimulates our salivary glands, and saliva helps buffer the acidity of the oral environment. Dental decay is caused by acidic by-products formed when oral bacteria break down carbohydrates. Saliva is relatively basic, so an increase in saliva helps our teeth resist this acidic attack and re-mineralize.
However, Finkel cautions against locking lips with anyone who doesn't brush or floss their teeth as often as they should. "The double-edged sword is that harmful, cavity-causing bacteria are also transferred via kissing, as are some of the bacteria responsible for gum disease," he says. So if the person you are kissing has poor oral hygiene — bad breath should be a warning sign! — beware.
3. Kissing floods your brain with feel good chemicals
The main benefit of kissing to your physical health and wellness is the release of oxytocin and dopamine. Oxytocin is the bonding hormone that is also released when mothers nurse their babies, during sex, and even cuddling. It makes you feel closer and more intimately attached to the individual. Dopamine, on the other hand, is the "feel-good hormone," which helps you experience pleasure and makes you want more. Dopamine is responsible for regulating mood, behavior, sleep, and cognition, while also helping with decision-making and creativity.
4. Kissing can prolong men's lives and fatten their paychecks
All the health benefits of kissing sound fine and dandy, but do they result in anything tangible when it comes to actual lifespan? As it turns out, the answer is yes — but there's a catch.
A group of German physicians and psychologists led by Dr. Arthur Szabo found that men who kissed their girlfriends or wives every morning live an average of five years longer than those who don't. Sorry, ladies: The study said nothing about women's longevity. Further, the team's research determined that men who got a daily morning smooch miss less work due to illness; have a lower chance of experiencing a car accident on the way to work; and earn 20-30 percent more money every month. At the very least, those wives and girlfriends should definitely get a cut of that added wealth, don't you think?
5. Kissing can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol
It dilates your blood vessels. Blood is flowing in a good, solid fashion and getting to all your vital organs. Research has also shown that kissing reduces cortisol, a hormone linked to weight gain, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Though diet and exercise are touted as the best means of combating such conditions, it certainly doesn't hurt to add a bit of kissing to your healthy regimen.
6. Your kissing style develops even before you're born
When you kiss a partner, do you tilt your head to the left or right? As it turns out, you may not be making that decision consciously.
German researcher Onur Güntürkün, a psychology professor at the Ruhr-University of Bochum in Germany, observed more than 100 kissing couples in various locations in the United States, Germany, and Turkey. He noted that two-thirds of couples tilted their heads to the right while smooching, a preference that likely originates in the womb. During the final weeks of gestation and for the first six months after birth, babies develop one of the earliest examples of 'behavioral asymmetry' —turning their heads to the left or the right.
By Clint Bling