We live in a time when the importance placed on mental health is probably one of the best things that recent years have brought to society. For this reason, it’s widely known that many of the things that affect our emotions ultimately impact our physical health. In this case, kissing someone reduces cortisol, or stress, according to physician Aurelio Rojas. This, therefore, already gives us an indication of how a kiss can affect a person’s health.
Kissing lowers blood pressure; releases endorphins and oxytocin, the hormones of pleasure and bonding
Aurelio Rojas is a cardiologist who has become particularly famous on social media for conveying medical knowledge in a way that’s easy to understand for anyone who spends a few minutes watching his videos. What’s more, what the doctor says is backed by research. According to Rojas, kissing also lowers blood pressure; releases endorphins and oxytocin, the hormones of pleasure and bonding; can relieve headaches, regulate cholesterol, burn calories, and can even tone facial muscles.
Rojas: “It even reduces headaches and menstrual cramps, and helps lower blood pressure”
According to the cardiologist, kissing causes “less stress, their relationships are much more satisfying, and their cholesterol levels are lower. It even reduces headaches and menstrual cramps, and helps lower blood pressure.”
And it’s not just these kinds of benefits; there’s a study called ‘What’s in a Kiss? The Effect of Romantic Kissing on Mate Desirability,’ led by Rafael Wlodarski and Robin I. M. Dunbar, in which they discuss everything a kiss can say about partners. Previous research suggests that various courtship rituals, such as romantic kissing, can convey useful information about mate quality. Two studies were conducted to examine how the supposed ability to kiss romantically, as a possible indicator of information about a mate, affects the evaluation of potential partners, according to the scientists.
From the same experts, there is also the study ‘The Effects of Romantic Love on Mentalizing Abilities‘. In this study, the researchers claim that “The effects of the human pair-bonded state of “romantic love” on cognitive function remain relatively unexplored. Theories on cognitive priming suggest that a state of love may activate love-relevant schemas, such as mentalizing about the beliefs of another individual, and may thus improve mentalizing abilities.”
All of the daily routine directly affects memory, happiness and how we see life
So many things happen when we stimulate emotions and senses. Our body begins to explore and experience sensations it wouldn’t otherwise. And all of this directly affects memory, happiness, how we see life differently, and even physical health. It’s been proven that living a hectic life, with office jobs where you start before the sun has even risen and leave just as the sun is setting, exhausts people physically and mentally.
“We found no evidence that the romantic–sexual kiss is a human universal or even near universal”
On the other hand, scientists William R. Jankowiak, Shelly L. Volsche, and Justin R. Garcia discovered that the romantic kiss is only present in 46% of the world’s cultures. The study ‘Is the Romantic–Sexual Kiss a Near Human Universal?‘ analyzed 168 different cultures. “Despite frequent depictions of kissing in a wide range of material cultures, we found no evidence that the romantic–sexual kiss is a human universal or even near universal,” the experts say, and they detail: there is a strong correlation between the frequency of the romantic–sexual kiss and a society’s relative social complexity: “The more socially complex the culture, the higher the frequency of romantic–sexual kissing.”
Therefore, according to scientists, nothing is left to chance when it comes to health. Even the most basic displays of love or affection can be a turning point in our physical health.
