Your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises and your cheeks flush.
A cocktail of “cuddle” and “happy” hormones floods your body, including oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine; as many as 34 facial muscles spring into action; and millions of bacteria are transferred from mouth to mouth.
The chemistry and mechanics of kissing are well understood.
Nevertheless, the role in our lives of this millennia-old cultural practice is belittled, says Dr Wolfgang Krueger.
”Kissing is popularly seen as sexuality’s little sister, but it’s not.
“On the contrary, for couples, kissing is far more important,” maintains the psychologist, who calls it a relationship’s barometer.