BED ROTTING

/bed raa-tuhng/

Verb

To intentionally “rot” in bed; to spend several hours or an entire day in bed, often watching television, scrolling on social media, napping or eating

WHAT IS “BED ROTTING”

ORIGIN

According to Gascon (2024), the concept of bed rotting or spending the day in bed is not a new phenomenon. Before the self-care trend became popular on TikTok, the Scottish people (as read on the Dictionaries of the Scots Language) had an old term that is similar to the idea of bed rotting. They referred to it as hurkle-durkle, “a term that means to lounge in bed awake rather than to get up and be productive.”

At present, bed rotting is an act that is meant to reenergize people from burnout, stress or exhaustion. It is a way to escape the harsh realities of life and a form of restoration or relaxation. Most members of Generation Z use bed rotting to “calm their body” and help them ease stress (Hui-Anderson, 2026).

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EXAMPLES

“Bed rotting sounds like a good idea now that I just finished taking three exams.”

“It’s finals season and I feel so overwhelmed. I might take the day off and just bed rot.”