LETS KISS....

Grab your partners by the hand and give them a big sloppy kiss. 24th June is National Kissing Day. You know what you have to do. Here are three kissing facts from neurolove.me that made us go ooh la la…  

Fact One: Three kisses a day can speed up your metabolism

Fact Two: Our brains have special neurons that help us locate each others lips in the dark

Fact Three: Kissing reduces anxiety and stops the ‘noise’ in your mind. It increases levels of oxytocin, an extremely calming hormone that produces a feeling of peace

It seems kissing isn't just nice to do, it's actually good for you. An article by health and wellness website mindbodygreen.com reveals that there is actually such a thing as Kiss Scientists who study kissing (or philematologists to give them their correct name).  They have discovered a wide range of benefits for kissing - here's just a few...  

1. Kissing lowers stress It decreases the stress hormone cortisol and increases serotonin levels in the brain. Kissing has also been measured to lower anxiety and has similar benefits to meditation.  

2. Kissing makes us happier It improves our mood by increasing endorphins, which are our feel-good hormones. “Happiness is like a kiss - it feels best when you give it to someone else.” ~Author Unknown  

3. Kissing keeps us healthy It improves our immunity by releasing antibodies that kill bacteria. And kissing helps us prevent cavities by increasing saliva that washes our teeth. It has also been shown that our saliva secretes natural antibiotics when we kiss. “Never a lip is curved with pain? That can't be kissed into smile again.”? ~Brete Harte  

4. Kissing calms us down and promotes pleasure It increases levels of oxytocin otherwise known as the "love hormone" which calms us. Kissing also reduces pain through our saliva which contains a kind of anesthetic and increases pleasure by releasing dopamine. "Your hugs and kisses are like the stars that light up my life when things get dark." – Author Unknown  

5. Kissing strengthens our relationships It promotes togetherness and couples who kiss regularly live five years longer than those who don’t. "A kiss seals two souls for a moment in time.” ~Levende Waters    

Here's the mindbodygreen.com list of Top 10 Reasons To Kiss:

Lowers blood pressure

Decreases cortisol stress hormone

Increases serotonin

Reduces pain

Increases oxytocin

Improves immunity

Fights off cavities

Increases dopamine

Improves mood

Lowers anxiety  

Sounds good to us. Mwahhh.