Like most college students, my weeks are filled with class, work and homework. While other students might look forward to the weekend or spending time with friends, I have always primarily looked forward to one thing: getting into bed after a long day. For me, there is no better feeling than spending time in my bed doing absolutely nothing. Laying down in my bed has been a form of self-care that has been part of my life since high school. Sometimes I’ll stay in bed for only an hour, but sometimes I will spend the majority of the day relaxing. I never thought this was out of the ordinary or at all concerning until this past summer when my TikTok For You Page (FYP) became inundated with videos describing a phenomenon called “bed rotting.”
According to Alyssa Hui, the “bed rotting” trend on TikTok mostly involved creators “staying in bed for extended periods— not to sleep, but to do passive activities.” Like most TikTok trends, it wasn’t long until health professionals began commenting on the positives and negatives of staying in bed for extended periods of time. My FYP suddenly became full of professionals stating that there is a link between bed rotting and depression, ultimately warning viewers not to engage in the trend.
After watching these videos, I immediately became concerned. Was laying in bed unhealthy? Or even more concerning:
Was I actually depressed and didn’t even know it?
It felt like the internet took something from me and now, I was unsure if I could ever enjoy laying in my bed again for hours on end without worrying about whether or not I was engaging in unhealthy behavior.
Once my FYP got back to its regular scheduled content of cake decorating and makeup videos, I was able to reflect on the differing opinions I saw concerning the “bed rotting” trend. I realized that bed rotting is like most things in life: too much of anything can be harmful. I recognized that the professionals who were arguing against bed rotting were speaking out of concern for individuals who might spend days on end isolating themselves from others and disengaging from the activities they previously enjoyed.
While that concern is valid, the messaging made it seem like all bed rotting was bad. The truth is that there can be good reasons to rot in bed. For me, lying down in bed is a way for me to make time for myself. It allows me to slow down and take some time to take a break from the constantly large to-do list. Bed rotting is just as important for my mental health as exercising, seeing my friends and sleeping. I will continue bed rotting into the foreseeable future because I know that it makes my quality of life better.
The truth is that just because there are valid concerns when it comes to rotting in bed does not mean that everyone should avoid the trend. Likewise, just because I haven’t experienced any negative effects because of bed rotting does not mean that you won’t. Like anything in life, the only way to truly know whether or not consistently rotting in bed is for you is to give it a try.