Cooking in three ways whose cooking is good for your well-being

Food is more than subsistence. Whether in the kitchen at home or to share a meal with others, I learned that food can be a powerful path to greater well-being.

However, for many years, I observed that food, especially cooking, occupies a paradoxical space. On the one hand, we romanian cuisine as a healthy and nourishing activity. On the other hand, we consider it as an unwelcome chore, just another heavy request in a high and fast stress company. This tension often reflects deeper problems surrounding time, skills, gender roles and personal care.

With these complexities in mind, I wondered, can we intentionally engage in home cooking and shared meals to promote well-being, especially during stress and uncertainty? Here is what the research says about the advantages of cooking and sharing food for our mental health and our relationships.

Allow time to flow into the kitchen

One of the biggest obstacles to home cooking is time. At the same time, it also has an incredible ability to reshape our experience of time. When we are completely immersed in the process – Choppingant, stirring, seasoning, tasting – we can enter into a state of deep concentration.

This state, often called to flowis a psychological phenomenon invented by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. The flow occurs when you are completely engaged in a difficult but manageable activity, allowing you to waste time in the most satisfactory way.

Scientific studies have observed that this happens in the kitchen. For example, during the locking of COVID-19, one of the most stressful periods of recent memory, researchers found that people knew a flow by cooking. Respondents at the survey reported that time seemed to spend quickly and pleasantly when they were preparing meals. The sensory aspects of cooking – Putting on the ingredients, inhaling aromas and seeing the final dish – were described as both pleasant and to the ground. Cooking, in this context, has become a powerful tool to reduce boredom, relieve stress and promote mental well-being during a period of isolation.

States of flow are also studied in professional kitchens, often represented as high pressure environments. Take The bearA popular Hulu series according to a young chef who leaves the world of gastronomy to manage the chaotic take -out restaurant of his family. Commercial kitchens, as represented in the show, often involve long hours, constant pressure and little recognition, which can lead to physical exhaustion of physical exhaustion.

Despite this, researchers investigating the flow among professional leaders have noted that those who regularly lived it were more satisfied with their work and happier. A study of 412 professional cooks in Istanbul revealed that states of flow when they were present, were good for well-being. However, the study also highlighted the obstacles to flow, including poor working conditions, excessive stress and lack of feedback. Researchers suggest that better workplace environments – where chiefs are supported and capable of using their skills – can not only promote productivity, but also mental well -being.

These ideas are not limited to professional leaders. Home cooking can also be stressful, especially when the weather is short or there are many distractions. However, as in commercial cuisine, the flow is possible at home. You could experience it when you try a new recipe that corresponds to your skills, prepare a favorite dish or find a constant pace while you cook. An environment of support, whether others or your own state of mind, can improve this experience, which makes cooking a more engaging and fulfilling activity.

Empowerment by autonomy and culinary control

Home cooking is also an act of empowerment. It can provide control over ingredients, feed positive emotions such as pride and confidence, and help create a feeling of autonomy. Imagine when you take the first bite of a dish that you have just prepared. The perfume fills the kitchen, the taste is fair and a feeling of pride swells inside because you have created something nourishing with your own hands.

During the cocovid-19 pandemic, this feeling of control became particularly important. With concerns about food security and the transmission of viruses, many people turned to home cooking instead of take -out to manage what they ate. A study underlined how this change contributed to reducing anxiety around contamination while promoting creativity, strengthening skills and a feeling of increasing achievement.

Home cooking also plays a crucial role in the management of chronic health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. Nutrition training has always been very limited to the school of medicine, but more unmarried schools and organizations present culinary training for medical students and professionals, called culinary medicine.

The impact is deep. Medicine students participating in these practical courses do not only learn nutritional facts – they cook, taste and understand deeply personal foods. This experiential learning creates a feeling of self-efficacy, which makes them more confident both in the kitchen and in their clinical practice. Hopefully this type of education can also help doctors give better advice related to food so that their patients can feel more in their health.

Other research has examined how cooking affects those who fight against mental health. In psychiatric hospital services, cooking workshops have been found to improve mood in patients with depression, reducing sadness, despair and fatigue. Patients with food disorders had more mixed answers, highlighting the complexity of their relationship with food. However, the results support the integration of cooking into mental health treatment as a practical therapeutic tool that can help promote positive emotions like pride and a feeling of success.

Strengthening social ties: cooking and eating together

Even if the kitchen is not your thing, there are still powerful advantages to eat meals at home, especially when they are shared. Eating together is one of the most fundamental ways we connect as human beings. Imagine laughs around a shared dish, stories crossing the table and the silent comfort of knowing that someone is there.

The new global data of the 2025 World Happiness Report and Gallup surveys reveal how much shared meals can be. In 142 countries, people who eat regularly with others say they feel happier, more sustained and less lonely. The positive impact of shared meals competes with that of having a stable job or income. Whether it is a dinner during the week, a lunch with a friend or a long Sunday breakfast, eating together nourishes more than our body – it strengthens our links.

The data also reveals global differences. In Latin America and in the Caribbean, people share around nine meals a week. In South Asia, the solo dining room is more common. In the United States, the solo dining room has increased considerably. One in four American ate each meal alone in one day in 2023, an increase of 53% since 2003. Young people and women seem particularly affected, signaling higher stress and negative emotions when they eat alone.

What is striking is that even share A The meal per week with someone else can improve well-being. People who eat with others not only point out a greater happiness but who benefit more from their food. This underlines that shared meals are not only beautiful traditions; They are contributors measurable to mental and emotional health.

A recent study examined not only the quantity but the quality of shared meals. When the researchers interviewed more than 500 American parents on family meals during the pandemic, around 60% said they had dinner together more frequently. To measure the quantity of laughter, gratitude and significant connection during meals, the researchers created the quality scale of dinner with family, assessing everything, from preparation and conversation shared with conflicts and screen use at the table. They found that almost 60% reported positive emotional interactions and 65% felt an increased feeling of family support.

A new discovery was the rise of distant dinners. Imagine that grandparents joining via Zoom, cousins ​​laughing through a tablet wedged between salt and pepper. Almost 70% of families started organizing virtual meals during locking, and 83% planned to continue even after the restrictions were lifted. This trend suggests that the essence of family dinners does not concern physical presence, but the connection – but it is created.

Of course, more time at the table did not always mean harmony. Some families have experienced more arguments or screen distractions. But massively, shared laughter and sincere talks prevailed over the negatives. These advantages have been observed in all types of households, regardless of income, race or education, showing the universal power of the dinner table.

Food beyond the plate

In moments of stress, uncertainty or disconnection, cooking and sharing meals offer something more than food. They can offer rhythm when life is chaotic. They help promote confidence when we feel helpless. They create a connection when we feel alone. Whether you are looking for a moment of flow, a feeling of control or simply a hot dish to share with someone else, the kitchen can be a small but deep act of care.

You don’t need to be a gastronomic chef to feel these advantages. You just need a space to cook, a desire to get involved and someone with whom to share it – even if someone is yourself. When approached with intention, food becomes not only a source of food but a quiet healing act – a meal, for a moment, a connection at a time.