Whether you ’re nibble a slash of courgette bread or an extra - chewy chocolate chip cookie , it ’s always fun to be the taste tester for a friend or relation who loves tobake . And , while feed products make with love ( and sugar ) likely makes you palpate good , the bread maker is reaping some psychological benefits , too .

Studies have shown that creative activities likebaking and knittingcontribute to an overall sense of well - being . Back in 2017 , Boston University associate prof of psychological and brain science Donna Pincustold HuffPostthat there ’s “ a tension rilievo that people get from having some sort of an retail store and a means to extract themselves . ”

Baking is also a gravid way to practicemindfulness , because it requires you to focus on follow very square counsel in a specific edict . In other words , most of the decisions have already been made for you , allow you to condense on the details while nudging your mind away from the stressors and anxieties of your living outside the kitchen .

It’s a great way to bond, too.

Julie Ohana , a licensed clinical social prole and culinary artwork healer , explained to HuffPost that baking is therapeutic because it help you practice the “ balance of the moment and the bigger picture . ” While you ’re measure and blend ingredients , you ’re plausibly figure how they ’ll all hail together to make a fulfilling last intersection , and deciding how and when you ’ll share it with others .

Sharing yourdesserts — altruistically rather than for tending or rivalry — is another mood - booster dose , form you “ sense like you ’ve done something salutary for the mankind , which perhaps increase your import in life and connection with other people , ” Pincus sound out .

It can also run as a musical mode of communication . Susan Whitbourne , prof of psychological and brain scientific discipline at the University of Massachusetts , told HuffPost that “ it can be helpful for the great unwashed who have trouble expressing their feelings in Good Book to show thanks , appreciation , or sympathy with baked goods . ”

If baking just is n’t for you , that ’s OK , too — try one of these otherstress - reducing tacticsinstead .

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A version of this story earlier run in 2019 and has been updated for 2025 .