New ‘bed rotting’ trend is taking over young people

'Bed rotting' is kicking off on social media and you may already do it without even realising.

It seems you can barely move for new trends coming through these days.

TikTok especially has become the hotspot for new memes, dances, cooking, and many other whacky things.

However, one trend, called 'bed-rotting', has been doing the rounds on the platform.

That could honestly mean any number of things.

Is it like, letting your sheets get really dirty by not washing them for weeks? Maybe not making your bed?

It's not exactly a very specific phrase.

So what does it actually mean?

Andriy Popov / Alamy Stock Photo

Well, put simply, bed rotting is just staying in bed all day long not caring what is happening outside in the world at large. Just curled up in a cocoon and pretending the world doesn't exist.

When you think about all the awful things going on in the world right now, like the rising cost of living for example, it's hardly surprising that bed rotting has become a name for that specific activity.

And this isn't the newest instance of people taking a backseat.

We've already seen a rise in 'quiet quitting', where employees do the absolute bare minimum they need to do at work to avoid losing their job.

Oleksiy Boyko / Alamy Stock Photo

However, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a lazy day from time to time, indulging in too much bed rotting could possibly be a sign of something underlying.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University, Dr Jessi Gold, took to TikTok to address some common concerns around bed rotting, and to perhaps ask yourself 'why' you might be doing it.

Dr Gold 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."