Ahn Jae-wook's '6-Second Kiss' with His Wife... Amazing Changes That Appear When Done Daily

Actor Ahn Jae-wook Shares 6-Second Kiss with Wife... Experts Say Couples Who Kiss for 6 Seconds or Hug for 20 Seconds Release More Oxytocin

Actor Ahn Jae-wook is showing a 6-second kiss with his wife.
[Photo by Channel A]

On June 13th, in the Channel A variety show 'Dad is a Flowering Middle-aged Man,' actor Ahn Jae-wook kissed his wife for 6 seconds. Ahn Jae-wook once said, "Men who kiss their wives for more than 6 seconds before going to work tend to stay married for over 4 years." The effect of Ahn Jae-wook's 'daily 6-second kiss' was real.

According to a recent report by AP News, the daily intimacy exercise advocated by couple therapists and clinical psychologists John and Julie Gottman is precisely the 6-second kiss. It literally means taking a few minutes each day to physically connect with your partner. The 6 seconds is not an arbitrary number. The couple married in 1987 and co-founded the Gottman Institute, which trains couple therapists.

After studying over 3,000 couples for 30 years, the Gottmans discovered that "intentional intimacy lasting just 6 seconds is enough to release oxytocin." Oxytocin is a hormone directly linked to a series of behaviors such as childbirth, hugging, and breastfeeding in women. When a baby cries, oxytocin is secreted in the mother's body to promote milk secretion, preparing the body to nurse immediately. Studies on animals show that those without oxytocin experience slower births and lick their offspring less.

Oxytocin has strong resistance against cortisol, a stress hormone. It has pain-relieving effects, boosts immunity, and enhances the body's wound healing ability. It also prevents blood pressure spikes and acts as a protective factor against heart disease. In sexual response, it increases sexual receptivity and orgasm, inducing sexual pleasure. It reduces anxiety and depression and has positive effects on social phobia and autism. Especially, oxytocin levels triple through gentle conversations, hugging, or skinship between men and women.

Gottman cited research by neuroeconomist Paul Zak, who found that a 20-second hug has the same effect. The method is simple. Couples decide to prioritize their relationship by setting aside time during the day. It is good to designate the same moment every day, for example, just before going to work or school, or right before going to bed. To couples who say they cannot find such time, the Gottmans say, "We are not talking about 6 hours. We are talking about 6 seconds."