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By: Howard R. Hernandez, MD
Slurpee! Peach! Plum! Prune!
Alfalfa!—These are just some of the sounds a kiss can make (the
last one innocently playful and maybe not as sexy as the others). A
peck, buss, smack, smooch, osculation, a mouth-to-mouth, a deep
kiss, a French kiss, a soul kiss, an Eskimo kiss, a butterfly kiss,
an X (together with an O for hug)—so many terms and types for that
one ethereal act—a kiss.
Definition and the study of
kissing
What is a kiss anyway? Let’s
have one little miniexperiment. First, pucker up your lips. Slowly
lean forward in a fluid motion and then press them onto your
closed-fist hand. The closing of eyes and the tongue movements are
optional but highly encouraged. Bravo! You’ve done it. That’s
what you call a kiss! Did you get a kick out of it? If you did, you
may need some professional help. Consult your nearest psychiatrist
or expert in philematology (the science of kissing).
These kissing scientists,
referred to as philematologists (pronounced as fil-em-a-tol-o-jists),
study the anatomy, physiology, history—every nuance of kissing. It
is quite intriguing how they have come up with innovative theories
on how our actual being is profoundly affected just by a passionate
smacker.
How do you kiss?
If you want to be technical about
the simple yet complex act of kissing, its exact mechanism is this:
The highly coordinated facial muscles around the mouth (specifically
the orbicularis oris muscle, a.k.a. the kissing muscle) contract to
squeeze together. Other muscles of the face follow suit and move.
The agile and versatile sixteen-muscled tongue can play a role too
and be an important part of the kiss. Unless you are not human or
animal, a certain signal goes to the brain via the facial muscles.
In turn, your brain releases neurochemicals and orders the body to
produce substances, which makes you feel just great.
Feel like kissing yet?
So who or what do we kiss?
More often than not, kissing
involves one person kissing another person. Adults kiss children,
children kiss adults, children kiss children, adults kiss adults and
people kiss their pets. For some reason, grandparents kiss their
grandchildren by smelling them at the same time, too!
Sometimes, people kiss inanimate
things, too! These objects range from anything to medals, trophies,
amulets, icons and a plethora of other things. I know someone who
kisses her hand-held mirror all the time. Some people even kiss the
ground that they walk on (usually after a turbulent airplane ride or
a seemingly interminable voyage at sea!).
The evolutionary history of
kissing
Before the advent of Gerber,
Cerelac, and kitchen appliances like blenders and food processors,
scientists widely believed that prehistoric human parents used to
mince up food in their mouths for their baby to be fed. Mothers,
after shifting from breastfeeding to semi-solid food, may have
chewed food and passed it from their mouths into those of their
toothless offspring. Mothers soon discovered how pressing their lips
against their toddlers’ cheeks continued to comfort their infants.
Other scientists think that kissing was a way to get close to
someone and check out their ID, as proof of recognition if they are
friend or foe.
Regardless of its history, most
of us will claim that kissing is indeed a unique human trait.
8 good reasons to kiss
1. Kissing removes stress. Your
hectic schedule at work is really enough to test anyone’s sanity.
To prevent crashing and burning, begin a day with a kiss. It will
give you that needed positive attitude boost. Kissing gives you an
adrenaline rush, which counters hydrocortisone, a hormone that is
produced when the body is stressed. Kissing relieves stress by
soothing the mind and having the effects of a great relaxation
technique.
2. Kissing fights against tooth
decay. Kissing is nature’s own mouth-cleaning process. Deep
kissing increases the flow of saliva, which contains substances that
fight bacteria, viruses and fungi. This in turn keeps the mouth,
teeth and gums healthy. While kissing shouldn’t be a replacement
for brushing your teeth, it does fight plaque and cavities because
of the calcium and phosphorous in the saliva. Still, you should have
your routine visits to your dentist twice a year. You can kiss more
often as well.
3. Kissing burns calories.
Kissing burns kilojoules. The more passionate the kiss, the greater
the basal metabolic rate. A kiss increases fitness levels by
improving your cardiovascular circulation. The excitement produces
adrenaline into the bloodstream and your heart pumps more blood
effectively in your body. Kissing may lead to more passionate
kissing. More passionate kissing could lead to more sultry sex,
thereby creating a “kiss-sexercise” cycle. Kissing is not
exactly a cardiovascular workout like running on a treadmill, but it
certainly is a dandy way to add to a healthy and active lifestyle.
4. Kissing tones facial muscles.
Kissing can give your lips, tongue, cheeks, face, jaw and neck
muscles quite a workout. As the dozens of little face muscles
exercise, they increase blood circulation which helps smoothen out
wrinkles and slow the aging process. Some say these exercises could
keep you looking younger, invigorated, and certainly looking
happier. Kissing makes you smile, too. Didn’t we all learn at a
young age how frowning makes your skin sag?
5. Kissing enhances the immune
system. Exposure to the “good” germs that inhabit your
partner’s mouth beefs up your immune system. By exchanging
bacteria through a kiss you are stimulating your internal defense
mechanism. It has to be in amounts just enough to stimulate your
immune system to be stronger. There are some cultures that share
spit in other ways, through community meals and “special”
beverages. This leads to a shared immune response, and makes a group
more robust and healthier as a whole.
6. Kissing boosts your morale.
When our well-being improves, our self-esteem increases. The
possibilities of self-improvement through the beneficial effects of
kissing and what follows are endless. There’s nothing better than
a passionate kiss for a major dose of feel-good factor. In theory,
when you’re kissing, you’re happy. And when you’re happy, you
feel good about yourself. We feel more secure and better about
ourselves, and our outer persona reflects it. Don’t you ever
wonder how people find out the following morning why you look so
relaxed and composed after a good bout of kissing the night before?
7. Kissing is a form of
meditation. Kissing induces the same brain wave and physiological
changes that meditation does. Kissing quiets the mind and, in that
sense, it is much like meditation as it quells all the yackity-yak.
If your mind still buzzes and chatters inside while you are kissing
someone, then you may be kissing the wrong person. Try to find the
right partner to give you that inner peace.
8. Kissing induces emotional
bonding. Kissing your partner is a fun, pleasurable and important
part of physical intimacy and helps maintain a sense of togetherness
and love. It is commonly accepted by biological anthropologists that
evolution has selected for humans to form strong emotional bonds
with other people. Evolution selected sensitive lips for reasons
other than kissing. They were so sensitive, that they were easily
adapted to being used in a physical expression of emotional bonding.
A little stern warning
Kissing offers many health
benefits, but may also transmit a number of disease-causing bacteria
and viruses. Bacteria and viruses in the saliva or blood of one
person can be spread to another person by kissing. Kissing can
transmit many germs, including those that can cause cold sores,
glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis a.k.a. kissing disease)
and tooth decay. A lot of diseases have been implicated as
contractible through intimate kissing. These include genital warts,
herpes and syphilis to name a few.
There is no need to give up
kissing for the sake of your health and that of your loved ones. We
just have to keep things in perspective. While disease-causing bugs
can be transferred during a kiss, most won’t cause diseases, and
the risk of serious diseases is small.
Prevention tips
There are a number of things you
can do to reduce the risk of passing on, or catching an infection
while kissing. You should:
Avoid kissing when you are sick
or the other person is sick.
Cough and sneeze into a
handkerchief or tissue to prevent spread of the disease.
Avoid kissing anyone if you or
they have active ulcers, warts, or cold sores around the lips or in
the mouth.
Maintain good oral hygiene.
Consult your doctor about
vaccines that are able to prevent communicable diseases.
Kiss your ill feelings goodbye.
His pupils are widely dilated as
they stare into your own tantalizing receptive eyes. You wrap your
arm around his waist and pull him in close. He touches your face and
you lean in, tilt your head slightly—either to the right or left,
of course—and your lips touch. There is nary a thought that comes
to your mind. What an incredible feeling to kiss all your worries
goodbye!
I mentioned 8 good reasons to
kiss, but I can think of just one simple reason to sum it all
up—it just feels so darned good! A gentle and warm kiss has all
the sensuality and pulchritude to temporarily transcend us from the
mundane and take us into a dimension of the extraordinary.
I wish you all the good life and
better health. That said, I seal and end this article with an X O X
O.
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