The trend is causing a bit of a stir
As a term, ‘bed rotting’ does not exactly roll off the tongue.
In one way, it sounds like you’re sleeping in dirty sheets. Ew.
And at the same, the ‘rotting’ part sounds more sinister than it actually is.
But I can assure you that the term is just another TikTok trend that has become pretty popular online.
What ‘bed rotting’ truly means is to stay in bed – all day.
Of course, it depends on person to person, but now and again it’s great to just do nothing – and I mean nothing – on your day off.
Wack on your favourite Netflix series, order a takeaway, and do nothing.
It can be a great way to destress, wind down and recharge for the week ahead.
Bed rotting is causing a divide on social media. (Getty Stock Images)
However, it seems the social media trend has been dividing the crowd on how beneficial or not it can be to your health.
On the one hand, Dr Katrina Ostmeyer, Psychologist and CEO at Beyond the Individual LLC, says ‘bed rotting’ might actually harm your mental health as opposed to helping it.
“While most people enjoy a good lazy day, the new trend of ‘sleep rotting’ seems like a way to popularise a behaviour pattern that can be very harmful to many,” she said.
“When we spend our days laying in bed and engaged in passive activities, we limit the opportunities to encounter reinforcement and meaning in our lives.”
On the other hand, according to Happier Human, bed rotting is ’empowering and helps you cope with stress and anxiety’.
The site claims it ‘helps to avoid burnout’ and ‘mentally recharge’.
Sometimes, all you want to do is nothing. (Getty Stock Images)
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University, Dr Jessi Gold, has attempted to address some common concerns around the trend.
Taking to TikTok, he said: “I just learned this word, bed rotting, and apparently it’s like you’re so tired and so stressed out that you just don’t leave your bed, and that’s what you do to cope.
“I think a lot of us do that. We say I’m tired, because stress makes us tired, being anxious makes us tired, not sleeping because of both makes us tired.
“But while we need sleep we need to ask ourselves is the sleep restorative or avoidant.
“Are you sleeping because you don’t want to be awake, because of stress and anxiety or the things you have to do, or are you sleeping because you actually need it?
“You don’t always have to fight the urge to bed rot, but ask yourself why?” Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photos
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, Sleep
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