The Benefits of Kissing
Author: Carlton J. Alexander
February 14th, 2025
The doves are chirping, cupid is firing arrows into newly banded lovers and the maps on chocolate boxes are still just as poorly designed. Yes, Valentine's day is upon us and so it seems only apropos to talk about the health benefits of…wait for the drum roll please—kissing!
The immediate image in your head might be pleasant or…horrifically wet depending on your personal experiences. But with a freshly dawned pair of analytical eyes we can see something magical other than the superficialities of your SOs mere perfect smile. At a cursory glance some benefits are pretty obvious. I mean, it feels great right? A little kiss and your brain gets hit with endorphins and dopamine(the aptly titled: feel-good chemicals), lowering stress and making your confidence shoot through the roof. But also, locking lips surprisingly helps fight cavities. Now, it won't replace mouthwash or a toothbrush — then you definitely won’t be getting kissed. But it does stimulate the salivary glands, helping wash away plaque stuck to your teeth and aids in the prevention against more showing up. With consistency this does have a marked benefit on your oral health. Contrastingly to the removal of plaque, kissing also introduces the microbiome of your mouth to different bacteria(about 80 million in 10 seconds); which can, to a certain extent, also boost your immune system. If that sounds a bit gross, that's because it absolutely is.
It also helps lower your blood pressure and cholesterol by acting as a vasodilator. When we kiss our body heats up and causes our blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood
flow throughout the body which the benefits of are nearly endless. But a simple one is how this helps lower your cholesterol levels by giving it more room to pass through the narrow channels.
I could go down the laundry list of minor benefits, and so far I have been. But to put it simply, in a way that can be applied outside the confines of February 14th or even romance itself. We emotionally, as well as physically, get rewarded for supporting and confiding in one another. Kissing is a symbolic expression, its nominal clinical benefits are eclipsed by the emotional resonance that it has as a form of communication that bridges cultures. There are different ways of kissing, but they share a single spindle of meaning. A way of saying I trust and care about you. Just do us all a favor and transfer your microbes' discreetly.
Sources
Penn Medicine, “Can you Kiss and Hug your Way to better Health?...” (https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2018/february/affection)
The University of Arizona, “How Long Should we Kiss for it to be ‘Healthy’?” (https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2024-07-10_bomega.pl_how_long_to_kiss_to_stay_healthy.pdf)