What are kisses good for? Why do we like them so much?

It is well known that the vast majority of human beings kiss, have kissed or will kiss someone at some point in their lives. These curious rituals are surprising for how much they are given and for the many meanings they can hold. There are kisses that serve to reconcile, but they can also denote affection, attraction or even courtesy.

However, none of this changes the fact that kissing, by itself, seems like a pretty absurd act. Why does it seem so natural to us to approach another person and touch them with our lips? What are kisses good for?

Related article: "Types of kisses"

What are kisses good for? What is its real utility?

Finding an answer to this requires, first of all, dig into our past, see what this custom is based on. Some evolutionary psychologists believe that the kiss is an act to which we are genetically predisposed and whose usefulness is basic in the perpetuation of the species. Therefore, wondering what kisses are for is also wondering how they have helped us survive.

About this, many researchers have pointed out the importance of kissing in solving two basic problems: find a partner Y strengthen ties with other people.

A wise choice when looking for a partner

The first of these functions has to do with our unconscious sensitivity to analyze chemical signals that come from the body of the potential partner. The sense of smell has part of the protagonism in this task, but the sense of taste also serves for something similar.

Detect chemical standards in the saliva of the other person is useful at the time of knowing the general state of his body, his hormonal levels and the characteristics of the immune system. Definitely, kisses are a way of knowing indirectly the state of health who has approached us, to know to what extent their immune system complements ours, and from there unconsciously decide if they can be a good reproductive partner.

Strengthening ties

The second function is the easiest to digest, because most kisses can be understood as a protocol to strengthen ties with someone. However, this process has an unconscious aspect that goes beyond the symbolic load associated with this custom. It has been observed that kissing produces an increase in the secretion of oxytocin and endorphins, substances associated with the creation of affective bonds and the elimination of tensions.

In addition, the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which are associated with infatuation and the addiction, they also fire during the kiss, which, if we add the above cocktail of hormones, can contribute to what is known as romantic love. The person with whom the kiss has been shared suddenly becomes something more important.

If to this we add the fact that the kiss could be useful to choose a partner, it seems evident that its functions are focused on the reproduction and the breeding.

Our species could be predisposed towards kisses on the mouth due to its evolutionary legacy, since these have also been observed in other animals (bonobos, for example). Culture, however, he would have been creating varieties of kiss and modeling the way in which they are presented, Alternatives to kissing the mouth appearing, however, perhaps are debtor variants of this last type.

Why do we like kisses?

Clearly, no one decides to kiss someone to get information about that person, not even to bond with them. The kisses are there because we like them. Evolution has made that the main utility of these practices, which is located in the long term, is masked by a short-term objective: to obtain pleasure.

In this pleasure is based on the large amount of sensory neurons found on the tongue and lips. These areas show one of the highest cell densities of this type, and are therefore extremely sensitive to potentially pleasant stimuli.

A) Yes, a few seconds of kissing generates an important torrent of information that goes directly to the brain, for which a large part of the mental processes begin to revolve around that experience. It is then when the substances that we have named begin to be secreted in a massive way and the neurotransmitters related to pleasure and falling in love take center stage. Hence, a good kiss can make you lose track of time: the whole body is paying close attention to what happens in this interaction.

NOTE: If you want to know more about what kisses are for, you may be interested in the book The Science of Kissing.