Bed rotting taps into that guilty desire to just curl up in bed for hours – not sleeping, but just lazing about. Tired people have been lurking in bed for as long as beds have existed (presumably), but, thanks to TikTok, the practice now has a name, and has undergone a rebrand as a valid self-care technique.
Unfortunately, although giving into the desire to simply not get up might feel great in the moment, it might be doing more harm than good when it comes to recharging your internal batteries. We spoke to Dr Hana Patel, sleep expert at Time4Sleep, to get her take on this major TikTok wellness trend. It turns out there’s a good reason why we get out of bed in the morning, even when we have no place to go – spending lots of time in bed without any intention of sleeping can mess around with your sleep cycle.
“Staying in bed while not sleeping can disrupt your sleep health by confusing your body's internal clock, leading to difficulties falling asleep and reducing the overall quality of your rest," explains Dr Patel.
In this guide to bed rotting, we'll explain why you should resist the urge to spend the day snuggled up on your best mattress, and how to recharge without disrupting your sleep.
What is bed rotting?
Bed rotting is the practice of staying in bed during the day, not to sleep but to engage in passive activities. You might scroll through your phone, graze on snacks or junk food, watch a movie – or, more likely, all three at once. It’s what you do on those lazy weekends when you’re so worn out you can’t even drag yourself to the sofa. Many bed rotting fans consider it to be an important part of self-care, and a way of avoiding burnout, but it has attracted criticism from healthcare professionals.
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Why you should avoid bed rotting
It’s perhaps not that surprising to learn something with ‘rotting’ in the name might not be so good for our health. For the same reason we don’t recommend you 'work from bed', it turns out relaxation from bed isn’t very good either. At the heart of it, spending the day in bed can deteriorate the connection between ‘being in bed’ and ‘going to sleep’.
“If you let your body become used to being awake whilst in bed, then your body will begin to associate your bed with alertness rather than sleep,” says Dr Patel. “It’s important to make sure you associate your bed with sleep only, as otherwise you may start to struggle with getting to sleep at night.”
Are there any benefits to bed rotting?
While bed rotting might not be the best way to spend your weekend, no one’s saying you have to completely give up on this guilty pleasure. “Listening to your body if you have been overworking or not sleeping well and having a rest day to catch up on missed sleep is a good idea," explains Dr Patel, "It can reduce stress which could help you to be more productive in your non-lazy days. It is also an easy way to prevent burnout.”
However, instead of waking up and going straight back to bed, consider taking your lazy day to the sofa, where you can relax without disrupting your sleep cycle. (Although, we’ll admit that sofa rotting isn’t quite so catchy a name.) Like many TikTok wellness trends – such as mouth taping – there's logic to the idea, but flaws in the execution.
Try to limit these extremely lazy days to once or twice a month, or you might find this inaction makes it harder to sleep. Reading before bed is an excellent way to rewind that won't cost you your shut-eye, while light exercise can improve your sleep.
Dr Hana Patel completed her medical training at the University College London in 2005, and became a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 2010. She now works as an NHS and private GP specialist in mental health and sleep and is passionate about supporting patients struggling with sleep-related health issues, having previously provided commentary on a range of sleep related topics using her expertise.
