Lip-Locking: Why It Rocks

Science shows it's our hormones that make kissing fun

Scientists have now biologically proven what we've known for years: kissing is awesome.

Playing tonsil hockey this Valentine's Day will feel great because of a surge of hormones in our brains that triggers a complex chemical reaction, a new study shows.

The Lafayette College survey found that kissing reduces the brain's levels of cortisol, a stress-causing hormone, immediately relaxing lip-lockers.

Researchers behind the survey hypothesized that kissing would also cause an increase in the body's levels of oxycontin, the hormone connected to social interaction and bonding, the Daily Telegraph reports.

However, oxycontin levels only rose in men -- proving that women need additional stimulation other than kissing to arouse the hormone.

"This study shows kissing is much more complex and causes hormonal changes and things we never thought occurred," Professor Wendy Hill, the study's author, told the Daily Telegraph.

Past studies have found that kissing has a similar effect to cocaine on the human brain.

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