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Exhausted and overwhelmed by midterms, students can fall into the trap of procrastination from studying and instead, turn to relaxing in bed for comfort. But this leisure time can quickly turn into a more dangerous habit than a simple, mindless reset, leading to greater problems.

“Bed rotting,” a term coined by Generation Z creators on social media, has become a widespread phenomenon that millions of young people are adopting into their routines. Bed rotting consists of spending extensive time performing unproductive activities in bed like endless scrolling on social media, binge-watching TV and mindless snacking.

Although lounging in bed is a frequent decompressor for many college kids, once leisure time transforms into rotting, the benefits of this kind of relaxation crumble away.

There are 168 hours in a week. Fifty-six of those hours will likely be spent sleeping — if you are keeping to a healthy minimum of eight hours per night — which leaves 112 hours for daily activities, a large chunk of which is dedicated to school. For Syracuse University students specifically, the expectation is for faculty to assign at least 100 minutes of work outside of class time per week for each credit hour, of which we are expected to take a minimum of 15 per semester to graduate.

For simplicity’s sake, say that all courses are three credits each (five classes) which meet three times a week for 60 minutes per session. This means that 15 hours are spent in class while 25 hours are spent doing homework for each class. Another two and a half hours a day, on average, are spent on hygiene and grooming, like showering, brushing teeth or washing hands.

The reality of these statistics is that college students have nearly eight hours a day to dedicate to activities of their choosing, and given the stress that often comes with academics, we should be doing things that contribute to our well-being.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Director

We live in a world where social media use has evolved into a societal norm, especially for Gen Z, where spending large chunks of our daily lives excessively scrolling in bed has become overly normalized. And, unfortunately, bed rotting is employed by so many young adults who mistakenly use it as a way to relax without understanding the true effects it has on our brains.

Due to the increased use of social media and escalated device usage, including that 70% of teenagers use social media multiple times a day, bed rotting has detrimental effects on mental health beyond pure laziness. Incorporating bed rotting into a regular routine can indicate signs of mental health issues like depression and anxiety, since device usage disrupts real-world interactions. Viewing social media in isolation floods people with images, notifications and social comparisons, creating a fear of missing out and feelings of imperfection and desolation.

Similarly, bed rotting acts as a significant source of distraction from responsibilities and healthier activities that become neglected through avoidance. Denying, procrastinating and avoiding more pressing matters is not a healthy way to decompress or relax. Instead, it heightens overwhelming feelings, circling back to an increased presence of anxiety.

College students already have enough that consumes their mind as they try to balance and navigate academics, social life and university involvement. Many people are overwhelmed with feelings that take up additional space in our brains, otherwise known as emotional flooding, which is unproductive and harmful.

If your intention behind designated bed-rotting time is to allow your brain and body to rest and prevent burnout, bed rotting is not the approach to take.

There are many more proactive self-care methods to engage in that actually generate positive results, including being physically active, prioritizing a good sleep schedule, practicing mindfulness and pursuing hobbies that ignite passion. And given that self-care has been clinically proven to improve mental and physical well-being, the negative effects of bed rotting on mental soundness can actually be reversed through proper execution of self-care.

I implore everyone to spend the extra time you have in your day doing something worthwhile that will contribute to the goals, hobbies and passions established in your life, because I strongly believe that time will be far more productive and positive than simply rotting in bed.

Lila Paton is a freshman majoring in magazine, news and digital journalism and business management. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at lgpaton@syr.edu.

Published on October 23, 2024 at 11:41 pm