bed rotting
noun
the act or practice of staying in bed all day
What does bed rotting mean?
Bed rotting refers to the act or practice of staying in bed all day (or for a prolonged amount of time), especially when feeling stressed, overwhelmed, etc., but also for the occasional pleasure of doing so.
Examples of bed rotting
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.
—Cleveland Clinic, 19 Aug. 2025
Bed rotting is usually when I know I’m at a low point in my mood/mental health. … Laying around all day, not showering or bothering with clean clothes, and eating whatever junk is the easiest is when I’m full rot mode lol. Self care is also understanding that it’s a cycle, and allowing myself the time to rot bc sometimes it’s needed…just not all the time. I’m also a big object in motion stays in motion kind of person but I give myself grace when I can to know my 100% effort isn’t going to be the same every day.
—i have not had a bed rotting day like this in a loooong time and i needed it so bad tbh im on strike from life for a day
—No one said bed rotting means living in bed all day every day and not moving. I run half marathons, triathlons, walk daily, lift weights, play volleyball and laying in bed, is still my favorite thing to do.
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Where does bed rotting come from?
People have been using the similar noun bed rot to refer to the deteriorating state of one’s body when inactive in bed for too long for over twenty years.
Once I was up and dressed by 7:30 a.m. Now I … have to strain to find reasons why I can’t stay in bed all day (shame, bed rot, starvation) and then finally drag myself out of bed because, well, nature calls, or in today’s case because I have to write …
—“I think I had bed rot,” she said with a laugh. “My first year, I was in a state of depression. I was in my room and I saw the four walls and I just sat there.”
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Bed rotting, which refers to the intentional practice of lying in bed for prolonged amounts of time, began showing up on the internet around 2023. We suspect that the practice has existed for quite a while longer.
How is bed rotting used?
In addition to the noun bed rotting (referring to the practice), there is also bed rot, which is used as both a noun (“an instance of bed rotting”) and a verb.
A bed rot once in a blue moon is an indulgent treat.
—This month Kim Kardashian’s all-powerful shapewear label Skims pivoted from selling Hannibal Lecter-esque face-sculpting wraps to PJs for students to bed rot in.
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