Bedtime stacking: the cosy way to do chores – or a sleep disaster? | Sleep

Name: Stacking at bedtime.

Age: Of the moment.

Appearance: Like a full day’s work for a consumptive 18th century novelist.

THE name makes me think TikTok is involved. Correct: the term is attributed to TikToker Linnéa Pham, who invented it in January.

And now it’s a full-something grilled? It is. Since then, people – mostly young women – have extolled the virtues of stacking bedtimes in social media posts.

What does this imply? This means going to bed early – around 8:30 p.m. – but with a whole pile of things to do.

What kind of stuff? It’s up to you, but a typical bedtime pile includes a laptop, iPad, e-reader, moisturizer, some sort of snack, TV remote, planner, and gratitude journal.

When do you sleep? When you have gone through the stack. Some call this a form of habit stacking in bed.

But Habit stacking is the practice of linking a desired item habit to a established one – take your medication just before brushing your teeth, for example. It’s just lazy. Alright, so it’s a form of bed rot, but productive – you get things done.

What’s the point of going to bed early? if you still have work to be done? The goal is to do everything in one place, without moving.

Is this a good idea? No, that’s a really bad idea. Everything we know about sleep suggests that bringing a bunch of household chores to bed isn’t conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Even I know you’re not supposed to take screens to bed. Exactly: Light can interfere with your body’s circadian rhythm, leading to poor sleep hygiene.

And eating in bed is regular poor hygiene. Of course yes: it can attract insects or even rodents.

Is there Is there anything else wrong with bedtime piling? One facet of restful sleep is a regular bedtime. Retiring at 8:30 a.m. just so you can go to bed isn’t going to help.

I can see it could be coyes, though. This could look comfortable, which is crucial: it is self-care as a style choice. Newsweek says it “taps into maximalism and the resurgence of the ‘messy cool girl’ trend.”

So it’s just interior decoration? It also promotes an unrealistic goal – to be both relaxed and busy – that isn’t even desirable, let alone plausible.

Is there a dumber way to spend a Friday night than piling on your bedtime? Yes: spend it watching other people pile on their bedtime on TikTok.

Say: “Reserve your bed for sleeping and nothing else, except maybe sex.”

Don’t say: “Then I tried stacked turf, where you pile up all your stuff in the backyard and set it on fire.”