The University of Texas professor Sheril Kirshenbaum says that “the first kiss is one of the most remembered life experiences – even above the first sexual relationship.”
And it is that in this act dopamine is released, a neurotransmitter that generates an urgent need to be next to the desired person and produces that characteristic feeling of weightlessness. In addition, the aforementioned scientist mentions in her book The Science of Kissing other hormones that are involved in this activity, such as adrenaline and norepinephrine, which raise blood pressure and heart rate and make us feel stimulated, fully involved in the present, in the here and now.
For its part, oxytocin causes a strong sense of attachment and lasting bond with the partner, and testosterone increases the desire and desire for more . The pleasure that is experienced is no longer enough, because we want to go further. And it’s not just the hormones. There are many nerve endings on the lips that lead to pleasant stimuli.
The kiss is the most profound form of biochemical knowledge, as Kirshenbaum explains: hundreds of thousands of different bacteria and microorganisms are exchanged, fifteen calories are burned in a few minutes, a few muscles are activated and, if the thing works, endorphins are released in so much that the inevitable result is that feeling of floating in a bubble outside the world .
Why do we kiss?
Kissing is wonderful, so fabulous that most of us can remember 90% of the details of our first kiss with someone special. The kiss is presented to the human being as the climax of all the great Hollywood love stories, and is celebrated by singers and poets alike. But certainly, the act of kissing has become an advantage for humans: If it didn’t have an evolutionary purpose, we just wouldn’t do it. So as you can see, in a kiss there is much more than you can imagine.
Kisses – of any kind, whether prompted by sexual, romantic, or family behavior – just make us feel good. You can thank the many nerve endings located on your lips for making us like kisses so much. And, did you know that your lips have more nerve endings than any other part of your body? When you press them against another pair of lips or even on warm skin, the feeling is pure bliss. Combine this with the chemical cocktail released during kissing, and you have a recipe that is sure to give you all those sensations that you normally experience when kissing.
Is there a difference in platonic and non-platonic kisses?
Anyone who has given their best friend a quick kiss on the cheek will know that the feeling is very different from the flood of impressions experienced when you make out with the person you have been waiting to see all day . Non-romantic kisses are very common, but they are a much more cultural phenomenon than the romantic kiss. Children kiss their parents, some Europeans kiss them in the air in greeting, and we kiss friends to say goodbye. The closeness inherent in these kisses can create feelings of affection or respect, but not the feelings of euphoria that often follow a romantic kiss. Since it is this contact with the lips that activates the chemical cocktail in the brain, a platonic kiss simply cannot compete with the romantic one.
Kissing is good for the body, as it can help people feel connected and strengthen ties of all kinds, so don’t forget to have good oral hygiene for a fresh and kiss-worthy mouth.
