Kissing

I just read an article called The Telltale Kiss by Joel Garreau from the Washington Post Service in my local paper, The Miami Herald. As a romance writer, I spend lots of time on the kiss. I probably spend ten times more time leading up to the kiss -- as in describing how his eyes drop to her lips, how she thinks about how his lips are going to taste as she parts hers, and what this lovely upper level persuasion is going to do for the lower level invasion soon to come -- than on the actual kiss itself, which tells you just how important, at least to romance, the kiss really is.

So I thought I’d share some facts about the kiss that I found fascinating. In the book “Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love” by Helen Fisher, she explains that “much of the cortex [the outermost or superficial layer of an organ] is devoted to picking up sensations from around the lips, cheeks, tongue and nose. Out of 12 cranial nerves, five of them are around the mouth.” She says that we pick up even the most sensitive feelings, intricate tastes, smells, touch and even temperature from the kiss. So much so that kissing is an advertisement of who we are, what we want and what we can give.

“There are three distinctly different brain systems for mating and reproduction that we have evolved. One is the sex drive. The second is romantic love – the elation, the craving, the obsessive thinking. And the third is attachment, the sense of calm and security you can feel with a long-term partner.”

Kissing “exchanges testosterone that can help to trigger the sex drive. If the kiss is also exciting and novel, it will drive up dopamine, which is associated with romantic love. In long term partners, it drives up oxytocin, triggering the attachment system.”

So next time you go in for a kiss, remember, a kiss isn’t just a kiss. It’s a transmitter for loads of information. Pay attention.

Now for some kissing facts courtesy of Mr. Garreau:

2/3 of all people tilt their heads to the right when kissing regardless of which handed they are

Men think kissing is a great way to end a fight. Women don’t. But, science has proven that kissing is so powerful to females, once kissed they’re helpless in its grip.

That little foot lift by women in the throws of a kiss is called a “foot pop.”

The science of kissing is called philematology.

More men than women think a good kiss involves tongue, saliva and moaning.

Once a relationship is established, more women then men use the kiss as a way to monitor commitment.

Along with a host of other happenings in your body, when kissing your earlobes swell.

Cortisol levels drop while kissing, which means it reduces stress.