When you’re a teenager who’s still coming of age, kissing and making out are everything. Some days it might even have been all you thought about, and what young person couldn’t have spent hours at a time in a lip lock with someone they were really into?
It didn’t even need to go any further than that. Young people kiss for the sheer delight of kissing and love every second of it. Then you get older, discover actual sex, and intimacy with other people suddenly becomes all about that.
But the fact of the matter is that kissing and making out isn’t just for the youth. And July 6th is International Kissing Day. What better time to discover some of the ways adults can benefit from reintegrating kissing and making out into their intimate routines? Here are some great reasons to do exactly that.
1. Sex shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all
Deliberately falling back in love with making out for its own sake can help adults rediscover the sheer joy in those activities they enjoyed when they were young. It can also help them reframe the role sex plays in their lives and serve as a reminder that a serious kissing session doesn’t have to transition into sex to be worthwhile.
Sit your partner down and tell them you’d like to rediscover the lost art of kissing for its own sake. Then set aside a little time to simply be in one another’s company and make out with nothing else on the agenda for the evening, including sex. Take note of how not trying to make your kisses lead to something else improves the experience.
2. Kissing can add passion and nuance to sex
Kissing can be an incredible way to add dimension and intimacy to your sex play, as well – especially once you learn to treat it like its own thing instead of just a warm-up for the big event. A well-timed, deep kiss can make sex even hotter. Try pairing it with a bit of dirty talk or some passionately whispered “sweet nothings.”
Periodic make-out breaks can help take the pressure to perform out of sex, too. If one or both of you are getting tired or otherwise need a bit of a break, ease into a round of passionate kissing or making out, and then continue when you’re ready. Options like toys can give you even more ways to switch things up as needed between the sheets.
3. Kissing can help you learn to read your partner better
Think back to the good old days of your youth when kissing, groping, making out, and all the rest of it were still brand new to you (and probably to your partner, too). You wanted to enjoy yourself, of course, but you were also preoccupied with making sure your partner liked what you were doing, too.
For that reason, you thought a lot about what it might mean if your partner made a certain noise or moved her body in a particular way when you did something specific. You also considered how you should respond next to what you were observing. That may have felt like overthinking when you were still just a kid, but it was actually about learning to be responsive to a partner—a lesson every adult could stand to revisit now and then.
4. Kissing opens the door to new ways to connect
Remember, physical intimacy doesn’t have to start and stop with sex. And there are lots of benefits to looking for ways to incorporate more physical intimacy into how you interact with your partner on a day-to-day basis. Touching, cuddling, or kissing your partner releases feel-good hormones that boost your mood and reinforce the bond you feel toward one another.
And the more often you do it, the greater the effects. So, consider honoring International Kissing Day by embracing more opportunities to experience these little intimate moments with your partner. Part ways on weekdays with a lingering kiss, seize opportunities for a little PDA when out and about, or treat each other to sweet little touches when you pass in the hallway.
5. Kissing can help keep you young
There’s a huge difference between aging and getting old. Aging is inevitable – simply a part of life we all experience. Getting old, on the other hand, is a choice – something that only starts to happen when you lose touch with the way you connected with the world around you when you were young.
Kissing – especially for the sheer joy of it – is a wonderful way to maintain a young person’s attitude toward relationships, intimacy, and connection. It can help keep things fresh, exciting, and passionate, especially as you continue to grow old with someone. And it can keep you as happy and eager as a younger person, as well. Try it and see for yourself.
