Have you ever stopped to wonder why?
Growing up, we all watched eagerly as our favourite characters, from Cinderella to Scarlett O'Hara and Sleeping Beauty (although she was asleep so technically it’s not the same) closed their eyes and did it - smooched their prince.
But chances are during our first kiss (next to the school gym at 15), when we first did it ourselves we weren't thinking about them and what they did. We just did it anyway because it felt natural; instinctive...
Why?
Before we tell you we wondered if it (quite unromantically) was simply due to an inability to focus on something that close-up to your face. But it doesn't...
So we asked the scientists instead;
Apparently, we shut our eyes when we kiss because our brains are unable to process visual data at the same time as the physical sensations coming from our lips and tongues.
Kissing is complicated business!
Interestingly, the research for the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, didn't entail any kissing at all.
Instead participants carried out a visual task whilst also having to respond to small vibrations applied to their hands. As the tasks got more intense, the psychologists found the 'touch sense' declined.
Closer: find out what your kissing style reveals about you relationships.
"If we are focusing strongly on a visual task, this will reduce our awareness of stimuli in other senses," Polly told The Sunday Times. But sometimes people would rather focus on the physical over the visual, like when kissing or having sex.
Next time you find yourself locking lips with someone, think about it, if you’re not too distracted which we almost hope you are because that would be a-whole-other thing for your 'otherwise occupied' brain to be concentrating on!
Pucker up xx
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| Glad we could help Bruno x |
