what is “bed rotting”, this tendency to drag out the day in bed, which has appeared on social networks?

A popular trend has emerged on social networks: spending your days off in your room to recover. But be careful, sleep specialists warn, this is not the best method for regaining energy, on the contrary.

On social networks, this trend of spending the day in bed is called “bed rotting”. The concept is to spend your day on your mattress, without necessarily sleeping, but watching series, emails, reading and also eating there.

“When putting yourself in a cocoon like that remains very punctual, why not”, explains Dr Sylvie Royant Parola, sleep specialist, “but if it becomes a holiday habit, be careful”she explains, “staying in bed all day disrupts rhythms and can disrupt the internal clock. The morning cortisol peak, which is the wake-up hormone, can be attenuated”. The result is often a loss of dynamism and enthusiasm. Moreover, “associating your bed with activities other than sleep can also create insomnia” and ultimately lead to energy loss rather than recovery.

Too much sedentary lifestyle harms morale

Furthermore, inertia is not good for morale either. Scientific literature and the WHO, the World Health Organization, regularly remind us: when we are in good health, movement and exercise are essential to well-being. Physical activity is necessary to maintain muscle tone, to maintain good mental and cognitive health, and to combat stress. Not leaving your bed for several days during vacation also means reducing social interactions and exposure to outside light, two other important factors in mental well-being.

To rest during these bridges in May, it is still not a question of completely forgetting lie-ins and naps. Generally speaking, to recover on vacation, sleep specialists explain that the best thing to do is sleep in, not too “fat”, with an alarm clock that rings a maximum of 1 hour or 1 hour 30 minutes later than usual. Naps should not exceed 20/30 minutes, so as not to reduce the pressure of sleeping in the evening. Sleeping too much is not good, remember that for an adult, the needs are around eight hours of sleep and for children and adolescents, it is more like nine or ten hours.