--- title: 5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing description: Everyone in the world may all kiss, but we do so for different reasons canonical: https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-03T05:01:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:44.130Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing og:description: Everyone in the world may all kiss, but we do so for different reasons og:url: https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta163dc81c91c7bab/69877d0ccd1bba142f6f4fe6/a0187-000054-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4572 og:image:height: 2572 og:image:alt: lipstick-kiss-mark og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing twitter:description: Everyone in the world may all kiss, but we do so for different reasons twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta163dc81c91c7bab/69877d0ccd1bba142f6f4fe6/a0187-000054-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Feb 3, 2015 5:01 AM UTC  Lipstick Kiss Lipstick KissGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Feb 3, 2015 5:01 AM UTC — [Men and women kiss for different reasons](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-men-and-women-kiss-for-different-reasons). “Males tend to kiss as a means of gaining sexual favors, or as a means of affecting reconciliation… Females kiss more as a mate-assessment device.” — The odds a woman will kiss her partner on their first date are [1 in 1.85, or about 54%](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/some-interesting-facts-about-kissing). — Most people [naturally turn their head to the right when kissing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-naturally-turn-their-head-to-the-ri), whether they’re left or right handed. — Kissing is healthy. Couples instructed to kiss more [“experienced improvements in perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, and total serum cholesterol.”](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/an-easy-way-to-lower-your-cholesterol-thats-a) — Men are [more likely to enjoy their first kiss](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/who-enjoys-their-first-kiss-more-men-or-women) than women are. In fact, women are [more likely to remember their first pair of shoes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/women-are-more-likely-to-remember-their-first) than their first kiss. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-kissing-64648/)**_._** **J** **oin over 150,000 readers. 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Best Place for a Healthy Environment Small, walkable neighborhoods, 300 miles of bike paths, and urban policies that foster active living and sustainability make for one clean, green city. Getty Images  Boston, Mass. Best Place for Health Care This history-rich city is home to some of the nation's most advanced medical institutions and policies that help ensure that quality care is available to all. K.C. Cohen—Courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital  Provo and Orem, Utah Best Place for Spiritual Well-Being A stunning Rocky Mountain backdrop and a tight-knit population that lives its faith contribute not only to this region's serenity but also to lower rates of disease. Getty Images Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/"},"headline":"5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing","datePublished":"2015-02-03T05:01:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:44.130Z","description":"Everyone in the world may all kiss, but we do so for different reasons","url":"https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/","keywords":["Psychology","kiss","Sex/Relationships"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta163dc81c91c7bab/69877d0ccd1bba142f6f4fe6/a0187-000054-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta163dc81c91c7bab/69877d0ccd1bba142f6f4fe6/a0187-000054-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"lipstick-kiss-mark","caption":"lipstick-kiss-mark","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3690851/5-kissing-facts/","name":"5 Things You Need To Know About Kissing"}}]}] ```