Baking is a wonderful activity that anyone can appreciate—young or old. But besides the delicious treats you can enjoy, did you know baking is also a superb hobby for your mental health?
Yep, you read that right. As simple as making cookies or cakes can be, cooking or baking offers several practical benefits to your well-being.
Keep reading if you’re curious about how baking can become your everyday stress therapy. Let me explain why you should start pulling up those flour, sugar, and butter every time you feel under the weather.
How Baking Helps Your Mental Health
Living with anxiety or any mental health issue is a terrible experience. It can impair one’s ability to work, communicate with others, familial relationships, and overall quality of life.
As a form of treatment, experts would often recommend talk and behavioral therapy or meditative routines, like yoga.
That said, these healing approaches have many things in common. That is, they promote mindfulness, introspection, and self-awareness.
But do you know what other things promote those? Creative activities, no matter how small or mundane, like baking or cooking.
In a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, experts found that people who dab at small, creative projects feel happier and relaxed than those who don’t.
During the study, the researchers followed over 600 people for two weeks. Within that time, the participants who did simple yet creative daily chores such as cooking and baking felt more enthusiastic and positive.
The study also made the participants write journals detailing their emotional and mental states. Through this method, they discovered that besides feeling happier, people who do creative tasks also think they are “flourishing.”
In short, they feel that their actions are more meaningful, purposeful, and fulfilling.
Similar observations were made by other experts correlating food and positive emotions.
Because of this growing body of research, mental health professionals are now incorporating culinary therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a treatment approach with much success.
Mental Health Benefits of Baking
Now that you know baking is more than just a chore, here are some other ways flouring those pans can be a superb self-care routine:
Baking as Stress Relief
One reason baking relieves stress is that it requires focus and concentration.
By focusing on the task, your mind becomes immersed in the present moment, providing momentary relief from worry and distractions.
Repetitive motions like kneading dough, measuring flour, mixing the ingredients, and frosting cakes are proven ways to soothe and reduce stress.
You get tasty chocolate cakes and cookies and feel good while making them—it’s a win overall!
Baking as Family Bonding
Anything that involves food is a superb bonding moment for family and friends. Cooking is a powerful experience, more so if you’re doing it with or for others.
Whether baking for the holidays or simply making a treat for yourselves, working together and enjoying your creations is a surefire way to strengthen your connections.
I’d highly recommend joining community centers with baking groups, classes, and workshops. This way, you can meet people with similar interests, learn new recipes, and double the fun.
I, for one, made more than a handful of meaningful friendships through my baking hobby!
Baking as Creative Outlet
Everybody needs an outlet to express their creative side. In baking, you can let your creativity shine by experimenting with tastes, shapes, and designs.
For people suffering from anxiety, baking helps to have a sense of total control over something. With clear steps to follow and a purpose to strive for, you can forget the confusion and restlessness of daily life.
You have every power over what comes out of that oven!
Final Thoughts
Like me, you might not know how to cook or bake growing up. However, setting a few batches of cakes and cookies on fire shouldn’t discourage you from learning the art.
Who knows? Maybe tasty baked food and a little creative avenue are just what you need to cope with the hustle and bustle of a hectic life.
Although, I’m not saying baking can be a formal treatment for any form of mental health concerns. But it can be the start of a lifelong healing everybody deserves.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.