Gen Z and the rise of ‘bed rotting’ escapism

our 'safe' space

More young people than ever are spending excessive amounts of time in bed on their phones. It’s become known as ‘bed rotting’ and is a uniquely Gen Z and millennial phenomena. What’s causing this behaviour?

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We’re sure that you’ve likely heard of ‘bed rotting’ by now, the infamous lifestyle habit that many of us are guilty of indulging in every now and then.

Gaining mainstream traction in late 2023, ‘bed rotting’ is a catch-all term for the act of sitting in bed and avoiding all other life responsibilities for as long as possible. It usually involves endless doomscrolling on your phone, leaving the blinds down and keeping contact with others to an absolute minimum. It exists among similar trends such as ‘goblin mode,’ ‘quiet quitting’ and embracing the term ‘rat people.’ Yes, all of those do exist, we promise.

How widespread is this behaviour, though? According to a survey by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2024, 24% of Gen Z admit to bed rotting, though many older participants also said they use their beds to avoid work burnout and general overload. Interestingly, 27% also say they wait for over half an hour before getting up in the morning and prefer to sleep in for as long as possible.

There can be benefits to doing this. We provide ourselves more time to unwind, destress, and practice some semblance of mindfulness, even if it is a little more on the casual side. Staying in bed and resting when needed is also a positive for our health and we should listen to our bodies when we can. Tiredness is real, people.

Still, that’s not to say that bed rotting can’t sometimes be a sign of something more worrisome, especially as far as our mental health goes. Extended periods of sedentary activity can alter chemistry in the brain and contribute to feelings of depression or isolation. Bed rotting for too long can lower serotonin levels and our mood, as well as disrupt our ability to regulate anxiety and alertness.

With all this in mind, why is the act of bed rotting on the rise, especially with Gen Z?

As we’ve recently explored, Gen Z are struggling to find areas within their lives that they can fully control. With a turbulent job market, an ultra-competitive dating pool, and ever-increasing pressures on our finances and prospects, it can become very easy to feel like things are spiralling beyond restraint. Bed rotting can be both a means of taking back some time and control for ourselves while also escaping these stresses, even if it’s only for a brief moment.

Studies have also shown that bed rotting is often a response to mental overstimulation, rather than physical exhaustion. Our phones have made it easier than ever to ‘switch off’ our brains and endlessly scroll social media in order to detach from the anxieties we’re facing in our everyday lives.

TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have popularised the act of indefinitely scrolling our feeds in ways that weren’t as immediately accessible ten or fifteen years ago. Our screen times are higher than ever, with Gen Z spending an average of 9 hours a day looking at either a monitor, TV, or phone. The temptation to sit and scroll for hours is hard to resist, especially if your brain has been hardwired to do so from a young age.

Couple this with a growing gig economy, whereby more Gen Zers are freelancing, working from home, or dictating their own hours, and you have a generation that is particularly susceptible to bed rotting. Younger people who entered the job market during the pandemic have become more accustomed to periods of rest in the day and are more likely to sit on their beds and scroll or sleep when they would otherwise be in an office.

The science is fairly clear on the impact of bed rotting. Too much sleeping or lying in bed when we don’t need to do so can affect our brains, our anxiety, and mess with our sense of routine. While many young people are slipping under the duvets at random hours of the day to get away from their worries, it could actually be making things worse rather than helping, especially if it’s become a habit rather than a rarity.

We don’t blame Gen Z for wanting to get away from things, given the current state of everything, but we should look out for one another and flag any behaviour that might be a sign of something more serious. A reliance on our beds to get through the day isn’t healthy and could be an indicator of depression or intense anxiety.

A casual bed rot every now and then? Demure. Every single day? A visit to the GP might be in order.

See also:

• How fluid marketing is changing Gen Z music habits

• Are Gen Z really that badly behaved at live concerts?

• Gen Z is hitting the gym to regain some semblance of control

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🌏 Gen Z around the Web

the latest stories in youth culture and changing trends . . .

Why are Gen Z men turning to right-wing politics? (the guardian)

Right-wing politics is on the rise. With Trump’s second term in full swing in the US, we’ve seen a significant increase in young men turning toward parties like Reform in other countries such as the UK. As mainstream media examines new phenomena like the ‘manosphere’ and incel culture, there is a growing sense of uncertainty and crisis surrounding masculinity around the world. This video by The Guardian asks some of these right-leaning men why they’ve gravitated toward this particular political stance. Read more

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Gen Z use ChatGPT like a ‘life advisor’ (fortune)

ChatGPT is everywhere now. Boasting roughly half a billion weekly users, tons of Gen Zers are incorporating its prompt-based services into their everyday living. While many older people are opting to use AI as a simple utility, younger people are more likely to seek out personal advice, recommendations and even therapy. OpenAI’s CEO says that Gen Z are making life decisions based on ChatGPT, which is both amazing and terrifying in equal measure. Read more

Why you need boredom and how Gen Z doesn’t really know what that means (ndtv lifestyle)

Before screens and internet connectivity, boredom was a far more common human experience. Social media and constant entertainment has largely eradicated the feeling of having truly nothing to do, but is this a good thing? From creativity to concentration and even brain health, being bored and unstimulated may actually be a huge health positive. If you need some encouragement to knock down that screen time, this article could be for you. Read more

China’s unemployed Gen Z are proudly calling themselves ‘rat people’ (fortune)

Thanks to spiralling costs and competitive markets, young people are struggling to find jobs all around the world, despite being qualified and ready to enter the workforce. Many Gen Zers are now calling themselves ‘rat people’ and embracing a slower lifestyle that doesn’t prioritise education, work or training. Like many other lifestyle trends of recent years, experts are dubbing it a form of ‘quiet protest’ against burnout and ongoing stress that’s being caused by an unforgiving employment landscape. Plus, the term ‘rat people’ is inherently funny, which always helps. Read more

Gen Z hybrid working stories explored in exhibition (bbc news)

A debate is currently brewing around the validity of working from home. More big companies are trying to force workers back into the office five days a week, while many regular people say they prefer the flexibility that a hybrid model provides. With different voices squabbling over the issue, a new interactive exhibition has opened at Oxford Brookes University that showcases a diverse range of experiences throughout the pandemic and beyond. Many perspectives are highlighted, expressing varying degrees of loneliness, satisfaction and everything in between. Read more

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