Critics are coming for Gen Z’s latest ‘bed rotting’ trend, but one scientist calls it the ultimate ‘anti-productivity’ hack

Woman using her phone and eating pizza in bed. (Credit: Anna Blazhuk—Getty Images)

Some call it ‘Netflix and chill’ or vegging. I call it horizontal time. 

Whatever you call it, getting cozy and lying in bed for an extended period of time—and maybe drifting in and out of sleep, eating, talking on the phone, or watching a show—is not a new concept. But like everything else, Gen Z has given an old phenomenon a new name, albeit a not so appetizing one: Hello, bed rotting. The phrase has garnered over 100 million TikTok views.