The weekend is just around the corner and you’re probably planning on spending the morning lazing around in bed, so what better time to learn about a new trend called “bed rot”?
Sure, it doesn’t sound as appealing as other weekend activities like “brunch” or “drinks,” but you wouldn’t have started reading if it wasn’t intriguing, right?
Like most new trends these days, “bed rot” is something that’s only come to light thanks to social media, and it’s not actually all that unpleasant.
While this trend may sound like something like avoiding piles of laundry or leaving food in bed to rot, the reality is that many of us are already doing it and probably just don’t realize it.
Simply put, “bed rot” is when you spend all day in bed without caring about what’s going on outside.
This pastime is nothing new: Bruno Mars literally did just that in his 2010 song “The Lazy Song.”
In “Cast You’ve Forgetted,” he says, “I don’t feel like doing anything today / I just wanna lie in bed / I don’t feel like picking up the phone / So when it rings, leave a message / ‘Cause I swear I’m not gonna do anything today.”
We all deserve to get rotten in the bed every now and then. (Getty Stock Image)
This is perhaps the best way to describe “bed rot,” which, coincidentally, was only given an actual name in recent times.
Considering all the unpleasant things happening in the world right now, including rising prices, global conflicts, and political turmoil, it is no wonder that bedding rot has become common among the younger generations who are less tied down with responsibilities like caring for children.
But while everyone’s entitled to a lazy day every now and then, doctors stress that overdoing it on bed rot could be a sign of some underlying condition.
A doctor urges people to think about why “your bed rots” (Getty Stock Image)
Dr. Jesse Gold, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington, discussed the term on TikTok, saying, “I recently learned of the term bed rotting, and it apparently means that you’re so tired and stressed that you can’t get out of bed, and you do it as a way of coping.”
“I think a lot of us do that. We say ‘I’m tired’ because we’re tired from stress, we’re tired from anxiety, and we’re tired from not being able to sleep because of both,” she said.
“But while sleep is necessary, we need to ask ourselves whether that sleep is restorative or avoidant.”
“Are you sleeping because you don’t want to get up, because of stress, anxiety or things you have to do, or are you sleeping because you really need to?”
“You don’t have to constantly fight the urge to bed rot, but ask yourself why this is happening.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Catherine Falls Commercial/Justin Paget
Topics: TikTok, Social Media
