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While the term might be new, the act of “bed rotting” has been around for a very long time. The Gen Z-ers see it as a form of self care, even going so far as to make it look pretty and aesthetically pleasing – just check TikTok and Instagram. But before you go grabbing a jumbo bag of potato chips, a jug of chocolate milk, your favorite weighted blanket and your digital media of choice (or you could be old school and grab a book) and hopping back into bed, read on to find out whether this act of supposed self care is actually helping you or not.
What exactly is “Bed Rotting”?
The phrase “bed rotting” is so deeply ingrained into the Gen Z vernacular that it has been added to Dictionary.com’s list of Gen Z-coined words, defined as “the practice of spending many hours in bed during the day, often with snacks or an electronic device, as a voluntary retreat from activity or stress’.
Sounds innocuous enough, right? It even sounds somewhat delightful.
Snacks and your current favorite tv show to binge-watch all day plus freshly washed sheets and your favorite pillow/blanket/plushy, add a warm, furry pet and you’re all sorted.
But bed rotting involves you doing just that all day and for some reason or other, it’s sooo easy to be tempted to do it for days on end, which is where your self care journey turns into a slippery slope of lethargy and non-productivity.
Bed rotting as a form of self care
We all know what self care means by now. And for most of us, it can mean a whole host of different things that make us feel better and ready to take on another day, another week, another year.
Take me, for example.
A couple of my favorite self care activities involve having a spa day at home, a Sephora shopping trip and morning pages with a steaming hot cup of good coffee. They make me feel good but they might not necessarily be your cup of tea. Yours may be slightly (or wholly) different but the bottomline is, doing any form of self care gives us that dopamine hit so needed to help us get through our days that’s seemingly constantly filled with overwhelming stimuli.
But we can all agree that bed rotting is something we all do and can do. I mean, it’s so easy. Your bed’s just there. No need to travel, no need to spend money.
You can simply veg out in bed. Maybe even sleep. All day.
Too much of a good thing
But. BUT… too much of a good thing almost always turns into something detrimental.
Sure, bed rotting for a day can help you shut off the world for a little while. It can help you regroup and refocus without all the outside noise. You actually get to sleep in. You get to finally rest. And let’s face it, yummy snacks and catching up on your favorite shows for a whole day sounds – borrowing another Gen Z term – dope.
But go for more than 24 hours rotting in bed without doing anything else and your bed rotting stint sounds awfully a lot like the dreaded ‘D’ word. Yep, that’s right. Depression.
When to differentiate bed rotting from actual depression
There are a few key things to note when to know you’ve gone overboard with the bed rotting:
- You’ve spent more than 24 hours in bed.
- You’ve done NOTHING but stay in bed.
- You’ve neglected your personal hygiene.
- You feel exhausted even after staying in bed the whole day.
- You have no energy or will to do anything else.
If you feel any or all of these things, then you might need to rethink why you felt the need to bed rot in the first place.
Studies have shown that people who suffer from anxiety and depression can be especially prone to shutting the world out for days at a time yet still feel somewhat safe from any stigma by somehow white-labelling their condition as, you guessed it, bed rotting.
If you feel as though you’re in too deep with the bed rotting and need help, remember – there’s absolutely no harm in knowing that you need help and asking for it.
Can bed rotting affect sleep?
Bed rotting can absolutely affect your sleeping habits.
Constant use of electronic devices in an environment you usually associate with sleep can lead to sleep disruption (and lack of healthy REM sleep which in case you didn’t know, you absolutely need to get a good night’s rest) which can cause you a whole lot of issues in the long term.
Think high blood pressure, anxiety, energy, stress levels, eye problems, focus and motivation. You don’t want that, do you? I sure don’t.
Not only that, over consumption of unhealthy snacks can also lead to poor health (which can stealthily but surely show up in your thighs and belly – two places where weight gain can show up immediately due to stress).
Tips on how to avoid ‘rotting’ indefinitely (and how to rot healthily)
These days, it feels like you have to be living on the moon to avoid the concept of wellness and yet we still, unfortunately, fall prey to the seemingly safe trends that disguise themselves as self care practices that go viral just because it looks and feels, for lack of a better word, “aesthetic”.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to sh*t on the bed rotting trend parade. Not entirely.
As with everything in life, balance is the key.
Here’s an idea: why not bed rot for half a day to get your dopamine quota, then do something else for the other half to get your endorphin quota (read: move your body). There’s no harm in trying that, is there?
And if you find yourself bed rotting for a full day, it’s ok. That’s absolutely fine.
We are all allowed to have an off day. Or two or three. But the difference between healthy bed rotting and unhealthy bed rotting is that YOU know when to stop. You know when to get up and get moving and start interacting with the outside world again.
Perhaps try to bed rot without any electronic devices. Grab a book you’ve been meaning to read. Journal. Hug your cat until he scratches you. Sleep (make sure you’ve got a good mattress because that helps).
Sometimes being alone with your thoughts is just the thing you need to finally sort them out.
Oh, and grab some healthy snacks while you’re at it – nuts, fruits, plus a spoonful (or two) of nutella and a few squares of chocolate. Or, schedule your bed rot on your cheat day and go all out. Remember, it’s all about balance.
Conclusion
Coined in 2023 by the always online Gen Z, bed rotting has been touted as a form of self care by the TikTok generation.
Done in moderation, it can help you regroup and refocus but done in excess, it can throw you on a downwards spiral that will leave you feeling worse than when you started.
Getting a good night’s rest every single night is tantamount to living a healthy lifestyle and too much bed rotting can affect that in the long term.
Psst… the sleep review industry is full of liars, sharks, and thieves. It’s a modern-day version of getting ripped off at your local mattress store. So, why should you trust us?