How does kissing release endorphins?
No matter who you’re kissing or why, the basic kiss relies heavily on one muscle – the orbicularis oris, which runs around the outside of your mouth. Your orbicularis oris changes the shape of your mouth while you talk, and it puckers your lips when you kiss. About two-thirds of people tip their heads to the right while kissing. Scientists believe this preference starts before we’re born, when we tip our heads to the right in the womb. So muscles in your head, neck and shoulders tilt your head so your nose doesn’t collide with your partner’s nose. Anyone who has ever been kissed knows that the sensations involved aren’t confined to the mouth. Your facial nerve carries impulses between your brain and the muscles and skin in your face and tongue. While you kiss, it carries messages from your lips, tongue and face to your brain to tell it what’s going on. Your brain responds by ordering your body to produce: Oxytocin, Dopamine, Serotonin, Adrenaline. When you kiss, these hormones and neur
