Sharing Mind, Body and Saliva

Remco Kort, of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research found that the amount of bacteria in saliva rises after an intimate kiss, with a ten second kiss sharing 80 million bacteria.

The study noted that those that kiss at least nine times a day share similar oral bacteria. The role of kissing has “an important role for the microbiota (micro organisms) present in the oral cavity.”

We have over 100 trillion micro organisms which live in our bodies which are essential for food digestion and preventing disease.

Remco Kort concluded that “the more a couple kiss, the more similar they are”.

This study makes me ponder about how partners share similar traits. Like a kiss, do we exchange fluids, ideas and thoughts unconsciously?

When I was single and with another single friend we joked about lovers who had that lover's bliss-face.

It was that “loved up” vibe that we couldn't stand. We called these partners the “amorphous blob” because they mirrored each other so seamlessly they morphed into one blobby mass. They tended to dress alike and even sometimes looked like siblings.

Scientists at the University of California studied the physical effects of being in a relationship and found out that couples in love shared similar breathing patterns and after sitting close to each other their heart rates would match up. They did not need to be touching.

Professor Emilio Ferrer, said: ‘We’ve seen a lot of research that one person in a relationship can experience what the other person is experiencing emotionally, but this study shows they also share experiences at a physiological level.'

32 straight couples, who were connected to heart rate and respiration monitors were sat a few feet apart not speaking or touching. They were then asked to mirror one another. When this happened heart rate also became similar.

Jonathan Helm, a UC Davis doctoral student said “women adjust in relationships to their partners”.

This all points to the fact that the “amorphous blob” is very real, not just term my friend and I made up! It refers to the traits that happen to a couple in love. They mirror one another by sharing traits such as body language, behaviour and style. With one kiss they share saliva, but that is not all that is similar. The romantic phrase, “two hearts beat as one” now has a new more literal and physical meaning.

Tanya Geddes

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I'm studying a Multimedia Journalism MA at Westminster University, London.

Topics I cover are Art and Culture, International Relations and recently, Love and Relationships.

Please be kind, I'm a newbie.

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