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Articles -
Sexuality
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Ah, your first kiss. Forget the smooches, pecks and lip rubs you had since you were an infant. The first kiss was your rite of passage into adulthood. Palms sweaty, lips puckered and tingling in your belly, that�s the one kiss you remember to this day.
You were onto something, despite what mom�s warnings, kissing is actually healthy.
The human body is equipped with million of nerve engines on and in your lips, mouth and tongue. Your brain receives these impulses with priority status upon stimulation. Kissing is important. Your lips are rather prominently displayed upon your face. A soft opening to your insides. Heck, even Darwin thought it was a natural instinct--you were made for kissing.
Kissing; lips to lips, or lips to skin is, at its very core, a social greeting. Over the centuries, it has signified reverence, submission, friendship, love and occasionally as an indication that your days were numbered. It is an intimate gesture that puts the kisser and the kissee in very vulnerable positions. The eyes close naturally, heads forward, hands clasped--a posture that is not conducive to mortal combat.
It�s no secret the human touch relaxes the body, excites it at time and even boosts immunity. When you were a kid mom kissed away your boo-boos. Now that you�re an adult it takes some serious lip-locking to achieve that same effect.
A kiss helps the body become supercharged and better able to fight infection. It does it on three levels. Through the immediate release of brain chemicals endorphins (a.k.a. natural opiates) the pain response is reduced. Less pain, the better your immune system operates. Surges in body chemicals: norepinephrine, dopamine and phenylethylamine cause blood vessels to dilate allowing for better circulation. As stress is eased, levels of cortisol (the flight or fight hormone) drop, bolstering your immunity. And there�s that de facto perk a kiss or kissing session may help relax muscles in the neck, shoulders and upper back�typically tense areas.
One creative marriage counselor studied the effect of the morning kiss. Clients who followed doctor�s orders and kissed before each left for the day, reported happier marriages and higher levels of satisfaction with their spouses. This was independent of their state of marriage or sexual activity.
Bernadette Sukley is a freelance factchecker/writer/editor with an eye towards the quirky. Her work has appeared in Sports Illustrated for Women, ABROAD and Prevention.com. Love the unique? She does too. Contact:
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and visit: thequirkywriter.blogspot.com |
