Mental Health and Baking: What’s the Connection?

People always say that baking can help better one’s mental health, but why exactly is that the case?

In this blog, I’ll list some reasons as to why baking has a positive effect on a person’s mental health.

Reduction in Cortisol Levels

Worried about your cortisol levels? Turns out baking might be a good hobby to pick up!

As a hobby, baking falls under the creative category. It’s been proven that being creative can lead to a reduction in stress levels. As cortisol levels are directly linked to stress levels, cortisol levels will

also be reduced.

Baking also promotes personal flourishment, as one can see their hard work’s results (and enjoy eating it). It promotes the concept of putting energy towards something, enjoying it, and seeing the

good results that come from that. The hobby can improve motivation levels.

Improving Concentration and Mindfulness

Baking requires people to be present in the moment, making sure they are following a recipe correctly or using their own knowledge to correctly bake a good. By being present in the moment,

people are improving their concentration. If someone struggles with concentrating, baking as a hobby could be a fun and stress-free way of strengthening their concentration threshold.

The concentration one has while baking has been described to be similar to mindfulness. Concentration, when coupled with the positivity that comes from baking, creates similar results. Mindfulness can lead to a sense of calmness, which is often sought out by stressed individuals.

Sense of Community

As humans, we naturally want to be part of something—we crave community (and sweets). Baking creates a sense of community, either by strengthening existing relationships or starting new ones.

Very often when people bake together, they are bonding and laughing with the person whom they are baking with.

Baking can also serve as an icebreaker—giving someone a baked good is an easy way of getting a conversation going, likely leading to new friendships. It is also for fostering existing relationships—it

is a way to remind someone you care about them.

Traditional recipes are an “integral part of [one’s] cultural heritage” and allow people to showcase their heritage in a delicious way. By baking traditional recipes, people can be introduced to new food and cultures, or the existing cultures can be brought together. Traditional recipes allow for “intergenerational bonds.”

Sources

• Nhc-Admin. “The Mental Health Benefits of Baking.” Northern Healthcare, 24 Mar. 2023, www.northernhealthcare.org.uk/news-resources/the-mental-health-benefits-of-baking/#:~:text=Boost%20our%20mood&text=Some%20of%20the%20reasons%20that,a%20similar%20effect%20to%20mindfulness.

• “Why Baking History and Traditions Are Important -.” Home Baking Association, Home Baking Association, 18 Feb. 2023, www.homebaking.org/why-baking-history-and-traditions-are-important/.