Know the benefits of kissing for physical and mental health

“Kiss Day”, celebrated annually on April 13, is a date that refers to the power of affective exchange between people. But what many don’t know is that it can trigger different reactions in the body, according to neuroscience, impacting mental health, such as reducing anxiety and depression, in addition to stimulating the production of well-being hormones.

Relationship between kissing and the brain

Kiss is an act affectionate and intimate which has been the object of study in several areas of knowledge, including neuroscience, according to neurosurgeon Dr. Fernando Gomes from Hospital das Clínicas at USP and author of the book Neuroscience of Love, which explores more about the subject. “The simple act of exchanging glances with someone for whom we feel physical and emotional attraction is capable of activating the desire to kiss in our brain. This is because visual images are processed by the occipital lobes. [principal centro de processamento visual] and reflect to the limbic system, which is responsible for emotions,” he says.

During the moment before the kiss, specific areas of the brain need to be deactivated so that others can be activated, such as the ventral tegmental area in the male brain, which is responsible for pleasure. In the case of women, the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex, responsible for controlling elemental desires, is also deactivated, allowing them to let themselves be carried away by sensations. of the kiss without worrying about modesty.

Several senses are activated

Brain regions involved in perception sensory of the kiss are the taste, the touch, information referring to the temperature, the humidity and the smell of the mouth. “The mouth is a region considered erogenous because it has a high nerve density, carrying important information to the brain. Smell, for example, participates in the process unconsciously. […]”, explains the doctor. Therefore, the combination of kissing reactions is related to the process of memory and pleasure.

Sense of belonging and intimacy

In addition, kissing is able to trigger the brain’s pleasure circuit with the release of dopamine in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system (pathway related to normal reward behavior). The formation of bond it is also associated with a decrease in the feeling of needing to occupy a single fixed space, that is, allowing another body to have access.

“The cerebral tonsils are silent, you stop seeing the other as a potential aggressor or enemy and a situation is created so that a deeper exchange can take place. The kiss provokes a feeling of belonging and intimacy”, says the doctor.

Other sensations provoked by the kiss

Kissing also triggers the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, leading to an increase in respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure, as mentioned by the expert. Next, the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system is activated, responsible for a feeling of calm. He contextualizes that emotions are influenced by brain activity related to kissing, from the moment that some information refers to affective memories previous.

kiss and health

Neurodegenerative diseases can minimize this possibility of experiencing a kiss in the full state, as is the case with stroke (Cerebral Vascular Accident). If there is the affectionate kiss, the exchange of caresses can be awakened by a simple touch, even a handshake.

“But when we talk about a passionate kiss, a kiss that transmits love, the kiss on the mouth, for example, of a couple who are in love, it takes as necessary the existence of full health so that this exchange can happen in the best possible way. way possible”, explains the doctor.

In order to have an active and satisfactory exchange, it is important that the nervous system be healthy and fully functioning. “However, even a sick person can experience an important role of kissing in the recovery and healing process, triggering brain circuits related to the placebo effect and positive reinforcement”, evaluates the specialist.

Action of kissing on mental health

Neuroscience can tell us a lot about the relationship between kissing and mental health, including its ability to help a person get out of an anxiety attack or have a different perception in times of depression. The affective exchange through kissing can have a significant impact on the formation and maintenance of affective bonds, providing well-being and rebalancing emotional health.