By Moboluwade Tabitha
In today’s world, many engage in the act of kissing mainly for fun or pleasure. There are, however, certain health benefits of kissing that people are not familiar with.
In this piece, BlackBox Nigeria highlights five health benefits of kissing you never knew existed.
1. Relieves stress
Kissing lowers cortisol levels and stress. Cortisol regulates blood pressure, therefore kissing and other affectionate communication, like hugging and saying “I love you” impact the physiological processes related to stress management.
2. Reduces blood pressure
Research has shown that kissing increases your heart rate in a way that dilates your blood vessels. When your blood vessels dilate, your blood flow increases and causes an immediate decrease in your blood pressure. This means that kissing is good for the heart, literally and metaphorically!
3. Relieves cramps
This is more beneficial to females. The effect of dilated blood vessels and increased blood flow can help relieve cramps and kissing does a good job of dilating the blood vessels. So when you’re in the throes of a bad period, it might help to get kissing.
4. Natural anti-aging remedy
Another reason to kiss as much as possible is that the increased blood flow to your face can stimulate collagen production and contribute to anti-aging. The higher blood flow increases the number of small blood vessels helping to nourish the machinery of the skin. It also stimulates the production of collagen and elastin — the substance that makes the skin beautiful.
5. You could lose weight with kissing
This sounds laughable but it is true. Bryant Stamford, PhD, professor and director of the health promotion center at the University of Louisville says, “During a really, really passionate kiss, you might burn two calories a minute — double your metabolic rate.” This compares to 11.2 calories per minute you burn jogging on a treadmill.
