8 April 2010
Why kissing makes you feel so good
by eHarmony
When the chemistry is right, that first kiss can make you go weak at the knees. Here's why it's better than chocolate, paracetamol and a relaxing massage - all at once.
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By Erina Lee, Ph.D
A great date will hopefully be followed by a great first kiss. The tension mounts as you come to saying goodbye, both knowing that you’ve had a really great time, and that you want to say goodnight with more than just a friendly hug. Admittedly, dating can be fraught, but when your lips finally meet, something exciting happens.
That first kiss can make you feel like you’re walking on air, and that’s not just your emotions getting the better of you - a lot of that is to do with chemical and biological changes that happen in your body. Kissing makes the nerve endings in the lips more sensitive, and causes them to send signals to the brain’s cortex. In turn this releases neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine and phenylethylamine, each with different affects:
• Endorphins are peptides and relieve pain in the body. They can also create feelings of euphoria
• Dopamine is mainly responsible for our motivation to engage in pleasurable activities
• Phenylethylamine is an alkaloid found in chocolate which can influence our attention spans and moods
As well as producing these chemicals your body also reacts in various other ways:
• Your adrenal glands kick in and produce norepinephrine and epinephrine. These chemicals activate the sympathetic nervous system as a response to external stimuli. In turn this increases you heart rate, raises your blood sugar, dilates your pupils and breaks down lipids in anticipation of you needing more energy.
• Blood moves from the stomach to other muscles, including the sexual organs as you become more aroused.
• The hypothalamus (a section of the brain) may produce gondatropin-releasing hormones which lead to the production of testosterone in both men and women, enhancing sexual desire.
• Oxytocin (released from the pituitary gland near the base of the brain) levels increase – this is thought to reduce stress, and increase feelings of being connected
Pheromones are also thought to play a part, as the vomeronasal organ detects other’s pheromones, and they are thought to signal arousal and intensify attraction between partners.
We’d like to say the next time you have a great kiss you should think about everything that’s going on in your body, but we know that’s pointless – we suspect your mind will be elsewhere…
1
Kevin Allard
12 April 2010 10:10
That is precisely why you should not snog each other when you are dating – it arouses strong sexual desires which are great within marriage but disastrous outside of it. Come on guys, this is meant to be a Christian dating site.
2
eharmony
12 April 2010 11:09
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your comment. However, we would like to clarify that eHarmony is not a Christian dating site. We are a relationship site that accepts users from all walks of life – whether they are religious or not.
You can find out more here:
http://help-singles.eharmony.co.uk/app/answers/detail/a_id/1409/kw/christian/c/75/r_id/166
Best wishes,
eHarmony Advice
3
Kevin Allard
12 April 2010 13:19
Sorry. Your site must have come up under a “Chrsitan dating” search. I wouldn’t have made that comment if I had known.
Kind regards,
Kevin.
4
Ian Pearson
13 April 2010 07:47
The point that Kevin Allard missed making is one that that does not matter regarding religious or faith veiws, (although he will have been making it from what he has been made aware of) that is to go straight in to kissing on dates does start bonding you together before you get total chance to find out how right you are for each other.
I say this knowing if I had heeded the teaching given to Christian’s I would not have got involved with 2 women that 5 years a part caursed a lot of devorstion in my life
5
Gemma
11 May 2010 16:37
I have learnt to follow a strict rule of no kissing on the first date. It makes for better quality second and third dates because if the guy wanted an easy ride he doesn’t call again.