“Bed rotting,” a new trend gaining traction on social media, encourages prolonged periods of staying in bed for passive activities rather than sleep.
Recently, Sleep Doctor surveyed 807 remote and hybrid workers to understand how often they are bed rotting during work hours.
Notable findings:
- 55% of remote/hybrid workers say they bed rot during the work day weekly
- On days they bed rot, 4 in 10 workers spend 3+ hours of the work day in bed
- 39% of workers were influenced to bed rot by others or social media
- Half of bed rotters say the practice improves their performance at work
- Many say bed rotting positively impacts their sleep, mental health
Six in Ten Workers Have Engaged in Bed Rotting During a Remote Work Day
Overall, 62% of remote and hybrid workers surveyed say they bed rot during work hours.
Men were two times more likely to say they bet rot than women, with 44% saying they’ve engaged in the practices versus just 20% of women. Additionally, workers ages 25 to 34 were the most likely to indicate they bed rot (47%), followed by workers 35 to 44 (46%). Interestingly, only 18% of the youngest group of workers, ages 18 to 24, say they bed rot, and only 18% of workers 45 to 54 and6% of workers over 54 say they do this.
Of those who admit to bed rotting during the work day, 88% (or 55% of the total sample) do so on a weekly basis. In fact, 8% say they bed rot five days a week, while 12% do four days a week, and 26% three days a week.
On an average day of bed rotting, the plurality (36%) spend one to two hours in bed, while one-quarter of workers spend less than an hour bed rotting. On the other hand, 25% say they spend three to four hours bed rotting, and 14% say five or more hours.
Of bed rotters, 39% say they were influenced to engage in this behavior by hearing about bed rotting on social media, the news, or from other people.
“Hanging out in bed for extended periods of time is not a great idea,” says Dr. Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and sleep medicine expert at Sleep Doctor. “When people are lying in bed for extended periods of time, their brain doesn’t know if it should be awake or sleeping. So, as a general guideline, and there’s plenty of data to back this up, you really want to only be in bed when you’re getting your seven to nine hours of sleep.”
Nearly 1 in 4 Bed Rotters Do Video Calls From Bed
The majority, 62%, say they are generally working while bed rotting during work hours; however, 75% say they also or solely engage in non-work related activities.
Those who are working participate in many work-related tasks, including:
- Answering emails (78%)
- Reviewing documents (71%)
- Working on projects (66%)
- Phone calls (62%)
- Meetings with camera turned on (36%)
- Reporting (36%)
- Meetings with camera turned off (34%)
Majority say bed rotting improves their work performance
On an average work day, 90% of bed rotters say they are extremely (44%) or very productive (46%). However, while they are bed rotting only 58% say they are extremely (25%) or very productive (33%).
Despite this, 54% say bed rotting allows them to perform better overall at work. Conversely, 16% say it causes them to do a worse job, while 29% say it doesn’t have an impact on their performance.
“I’m skeptical that the actual bed rotting improves performance,” says Certified Sleep Science Coach David Rubin. “However, a short nap (20-25 minutes) in the early afternoon can be rejuvenating and help combat the afternoon slump. It could be that this restful behavior has a similar effect as taking a break, and is helping people avoid feeling drained, or burning out, meaning that they are more productive over time.”
Only 20% have faced consequences for sleeping on the job. Of those who suffered consequences, 62% say they had to check in with their supervisor more often, 56% had their workload changed, 49% needed to sit down with their manager, 24% were suspended, and 17% were fired.
Many Say Bed Rotting Positively Impacts Their Mental Health, Sleep
The majority of bed rotters say the practice affects their mental health and sleep.
Overall, 57% say the practice of bed rotting positively impacts their mental health. Conversely, 21% say it has a negative impact, while 22% say it doesn’t have an impact.
For sleep, 47% say it has a positive impact, while 25% say bed rotting has a negative impact, and 28% say no impact.
Three in Four Workers Lose Sleep Nightly Over Job Stressors
Career stressors frequently cause employees to lose nightly sleep. In fact, 77% of full-time workers say they lose sleep on an average night over job stressors.
Ten percent say they lose 3 hours of sleep or more nightly due to career-related stressors. Additionally, 22% say they lose 2 hours, 25% lose 1 hour, 9% lose between 30 to 59 minutes, 7% lose 15 to 29 minutes, and 4% lose less than 15 minutes.
“We know that people are generally happier overall with a shift to remote work by avoiding a commute, feeling less micro-managed, and having more time for leisure activities. The well-being improvements people see from bed rotting might be less about bed rotting itself and more about working from home in a broader sense. I would not recommend bed rotting as a way to actively improve mental health or sleep, at least not regularly,” says Rubin.
According to David Rubin, if you want to get better sleep, and therefore improve your overall health, rather than bed rotting, you can try the following:
- Get 15 minutes of sunshine as early as you can.
- Stop drinking caffeine after 2 p.m.
- Exercise daily, at least 4 hours before bedtime.
- Avoid alcohol 3 hours before bed.
- Stick to a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends.
Methodology
The survey was completed March 2024, and 807 full-time remote and hybrid works were surveyed. In total, 500 respondents who indicated they have engaged in “bed rotting” completed the full survey.
About The Author
Certified Sleep Science Coach, Director of Product Testing
David is a Certified Sleep Science Coach with a lifelong passion for well-being and health optimization. His interest in sleep developed with the arrival of his son, when sleep suddenly became a precious commodity.
- POSITION: Side Sleeper
- TEMPERATURE: Hot Sleeper
- CHRONOTYPE: Lion
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