This trendy practice may boost your physical and mental health — but done incorrectly, it could make things worse

Bed rotting doesn’t sound like something you’d do on purpose. But thanks to TikTok, it’s become a go-to practice for the overworked, overtired and perpetually online.

Lazing around in bed all day can be a relaxing addition to your self-care routine. It could also be a symptom of an underlying health condition.

Internal medicine physician Meghan Galili, MD, explains bed rotting’s benefits and drawbacks — and how to tell when it’s a symptom of a larger problem.

What is bed rotting?

Bed rotting is the act of intentionally spending the day in bed being unproductive. You exchange work, school, chores and other sources of stress for complete relaxation. Think gaming, binging your favorite TV show or taking a nap (or all three).

Benefits of bed rotting

Practiced mindfully and in moderation, bed rotting may boost your physical and mental health. The reason is simple: Our bodies and minds need rest.

“Resting gives your muscles, joints, nervous system and more a chance to reset and recover from the daily stressors you endure in life,” Dr. Galili explains.

The benefits are even greater if you spend at least some of your bed-rotting time dozing off.

“Sleep deprivation is a common problem that can affect your body in many ways, including weakening your immune system,” she continues. “If you spend some of your bed rotting time catching up on sleep, it could potentially improve your immune health.”

Giving yourself time to unplug from the world may reduce your stress levels. If you’re living with (or recovering from) burnout, a day spent relaxing in bed may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

“It’s good to take time out and reflect about what's going on in your life,” she adds. “Becoming more mindful of how you’re feeling, physically and emotionally, can improve mental clarity. But only if it’s done correctly.”

Is bed rotting a good thing?

Whether bed rotting is a good idea depends on why you do it, how it makes you feel and what you’re actually doing while you hang out in bed. An occasional break from productivity culture can be healing and restorative. But making bed rotting a habit could have the opposite effect.

“Humans are creatures of habit,” Dr. Galili notes. “So, I worry about these periods of intentionally unproductive time becoming a recurring pattern in your life.”

It’s one thing to stay in bed until 1 p.m. once a month when you’re working a 60-hour week. It’s quite another to do it all day, every weekend — or to call in sick to keep your bed rotting session going. That could make existing mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression, worse. It could also become an unhealthy coping mechanism.

“I can see bed rotting becoming a go-to way to avoid stressful situations, instead of a rare break from the daily grind,” she adds. “And avoidance can lead to feelings of guilt, loneliness and lack of motivation.”

She adds that, if you feel like you need bed rotting time to function, that’s a sure sign that something’s going on.

“There could be an underlying mental health condition that you’re exacerbating with bed rotting,” Dr. Galili says. “If it goes from being intentional to impulsive, that’s worrying.”

Habitual bed rotting isn’t just bad for your mental health. It can also affect your body.

“We’re not really meant to lie in bed all day,” Dr. Galili explains. “Our bodies need to be conditioned. Our muscles need to move and stretch to avoid atrophy.” Downsides of bed rotting include:

  • Musculoskeletal pain: “Being in the same position for a long time can lead to pretty bad neck, back and hip pain. It can also leave your joints stiff and your muscles achy,” Dr. Galili says.
  • Insomnia: The first-line treatment for insomnia is improving your sleep hygiene. That means maintaining a regular sleep schedule, avoiding naps and only using your bed for sleeping. Bed rotting can encourage bad sleep hygiene, which could cause (or worsen) a sleep disorder.
  • Weight gain:Lying in bed requires very little energy. If you’re spending too much time bed rotting, your weight may start creeping up on you.

How to practice healthy bed rotting

Bed rotting can be a healthy way to take a break from jam-packed schedules and chronic stress, but only if you’re intentional and reflective about it. Dr. Galili recommends creating a mindful bed rotting practice by:

  • Enforcing a hard stop:“If you’re considering bed rotting, make sure you set a time limit,” Dr. Galili advises. “It’s important to have restrictions on the amount of time you spend in bed.”
  • Injecting some motion:Make sure you get out of bed— even if it’s just for a quick stretch or a bathroom run — every hour or so. A little activity can help prevent aches and pains.
  • Not napping if you have sleep issues:If you have a sleep disorder, bed rotting may not be a good fit for you. Giving in to the urge to nap could lead to sleep deprivation in the long run.
  • Choosing your activities carefully:Reading is a great way to unwind. Scrolling social media? Not so much. “You can get so hooked watching that content that it keeps you in bed longer,” Dr. Galili observes. “It also doesn’t require much focus: Your mind can still wander. So, you may not be taking a real break from stress.”
  • Checking for patterns:Do your bed rotting sessions tend to happen after fights with your partner? What about your eating habits? Do they change when you take to your bed for the day? Examining the behavior can help you nip potential problems in the bud.
  • Investigating your symptoms:“Ask yourself if you’re having any other symptoms besides feeling like you want or need to rest in bed,” Dr. Galili recommends. If anything is off, physically or mentally, see a provider for a workup.
  • Asking the big question:Bed rotting is supposed to leave you feeling refreshed. So, ask yourself: When you’re done rotting, do you feel energized or depleted? If it isn’t helping, stop doing it.

If you can’t make bed rotting work for you in a healthy way, that’s OK, too. There’s more than one way to practice self-care. (Being active can also be restorative!) And finding a routine that improves your well-being is worth the effort.