[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
A new trend is going viral on TikTok called “bed rotting.” The term refers to an amplified lazy day where people stay in bed doing nothing for long periods of time to cope with stressful lifestyles. But psychologists are warning against this indulgent trend, citing mental health concerns.
Psychologist and professor Simon A. Rego told CNN that while taking a well-deserved break from work is beneficial, so is investing in a balanced lifestyle. He said that spending too much time laying in bed can disrupt mood and, ironically, increase stress.
Rego also pointed out that if someone can’t seem to get themselves out of bed for more than a day or two, they may have other mental health issues. Spending prolonged periods of time in bed may actually mean a possible struggle with depression.
“Be mindful and avoid overdoing it, no matter how good it may feel in the moment,” Rego said.
It’s worth noting that this new trend was coined by Gen Z, who has been declared one of the most depressed generations of our times.
But so-called “bed rotting” and other self-care trends are nothing new. The first time self-care was recorded in medical journals was in 1946. Since then, self-care articles have only grown in popularity. In 2015, 2,457 articles were published under the topic. While the original phrase referred to caring for self during an illness or as a way to prevent one, our culture has shifted that meaning in quite significant ways over the years.
Arguably, it was social media that transformed self-care into self-indulgence.
On Instagram alone, over 75 million posts refer to self-care, and more than 2.5 million posts give advice on how to practice self-care. Even though the range of this topic is wide, they have one thing in common: self-centeredness. Online self-care ideas range from binging a favorite TV show to taking a luxurious bubble bath.
Many of these tips also include isolation from society and treating oneself to whatever feels good in the moment, all in the name of mental health.
But what does true rest really mean? In Genesis 2:2-3, God demonstrates the importance of rest. When He was finished creating the world, He rested on the seventh day.
In Exodus 14:30, God rescues the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and commands them to rest from all their work, one day a week, for the sake of fellowship and worship. Rest was meant to be a day set apart for the Lord, acknowledging that ultimately it is not the work of our hands that sustains us, but God.
Holy rest is not about fulfilling selfish desires but about reorienting our focus to the things that matter most: our relationship with God and our relationship to others.