The Health Benefits Of Kissing

Even though this is about the peak of the 2017 - 2018 flu season, it is a fact that passing germs from one person to another actually helps to build immunity. This assumes that the dose of gems received isn't above the point that it will actually make the recipient ill. So if one person is very ill, kissing is ill advised. There is also no denying that kissing also has a role in emotional bonding.

Kissing relieves stress and releases epinephrine (adrenaline) into your blood, making your heart pump faster, which may result in a reduction of LDL cholesterol. The endorphins released from kissing can create a feeling of euphoria.

Kissing Can:

1. Reduces Blood Pressure - Kissing helps to dilate your blood vessels, which may help lower your blood pressure.

2. Relieves Cramps & Headaches - The blood-vessel-dilation effect described above also helps to relieve pain, particularly from headache or menstrual cramps.

3. Fights Cavities - When you kiss, saliva production increases in your mouth, and this helps to wash away plaque on your teeth that may lead to cavities. Cavity-causing bacteria can also be transmitted via a kiss, especially if the person you're kissing has poor oral habits.

4. Releases Endorphins - Kissing prompts your brain to release a happy elixir of feel-good chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. But kissing also activates the same areas in your brain linked to reward and addiction.

5. Burns Calories - It's not going to replace your workout session, but a vigorous kiss may burn 8-16 calories, which isn't quite enough to burn off one Hershey's Chocolate Kiss.

6. Boosts Your Self-Esteem - One study found that men who received a passionate kiss before they left for work earned more money. This suggests the kiss (and perhaps the happy home-life it suggests) makes people happier, boosts self-esteem and, ultimately, more productive at work.

7. Tones Your Facial Muscles - A vigorous kiss helps you shape up your neck and jawline by working out a number of facial muscles.

8. Checks Out Your Partner's Compatibility - A kiss can be a powerful measure of your initial attraction to a person, so much so that the majority of men and women surveyed reporting that a first kiss could be a turn-off. Women, in particular, place more importance on kissing as a "mate-assessment device" and as a means of "initiating, maintaining, and monitoring the current status of their relationship with a long-term partner."

So pucker-up your way to better health!

Happy Valentine's Day!

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