Hey North Hollywood! It’s time to break out the lip balm and Binaca. One of our favorite “holidays” is coming. July 6, 2013 is International Kissing Day or World Kissing Day! The history behind this holiday is a little vague but this is what we could dig up.
Supposedly, a marketing savvy dentist in the United Kingdom started this holiday for people to take better care of their teeth. The dentist figured that the more kissing people wanted to do, the more they would be inclined to take care of their teeth. Now, World Kissing Day has spread to more than 60 countries and the message is the same in every one of them: Kissing is good for your body, mind and spirit. Did you know? More than 20 years ago, the United Nations made World Kissing Day an international holiday.
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Kissing has been documented in medical studies as offering the following benefits: From www.bestkisses.com
- Those who kiss their partner goodbye each morning live five years longer than those who don’t.
- Kissing is great for self-esteem. It makes you feel appreciated and helps your state of mind.
- Kissing burns calories, 2-3 calories a minute and can double your metabolic rate. Research claims that three passionate kisses a day (at least lasting 20 seconds each) will cause you to lose an entire extra pound!
- Kissing is a known stress-reliever. Passionate kissing relieves tension, reduces negative energy and produces a sense of well being, lowering your cortisol ‘stress’ hormone.
- Kissing uses 30 facial muscles and it helps keep the facial muscles tight, preventing baggy cheeks! The tension in the muscles caused by a passionate kiss helps smooth the skin and increases the circulation.
- Kissing is good for the heart, as it creates an adrenaline which causes your heart to pump more blood around your body. Frequent kissing has scientifically been proven to stabilize cardiovascular activity, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Those who kiss quite frequently are less likely to suffer from stomach, bladder and blood infections.
- During a kiss, natural antibiotics are secreted in the saliva. Also, the saliva contains a type of anesthetic that helps relieve pain.
- Kissing reduces anxiety and stops the ‘noise’ in your mind. It increases the levels of oxytocin, an extremely calming hormone that produces a feeling of peace.
- The endorphins produced by kissing are 200 times more powerful than morphine. [source]
We decided to go to the streets to find out how “Locals” were going to celebrate World Kissing Day….
Rachael May: I am going to kiss 10 strangers
Skywalker: I am going to kiss the ground after taking my first pilot’s lesson on Saturday.
Alicia: I am going to kiss my boyfriend from the top of his head to the tip of his toes and everything in between.
Lisa: Having a party and I am going to play “Spin the Bottle.”
Jessie: I don’t like to kiss, too many germs….will hug instead.
Sherry: I’m an actress and going to do all the kissing scenes I can remember.
So NoHo, take this day as your excuse to smooch!
Happy World Kissing Day!
Staff at NoHoArtsDistrict.com