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Never Do Homework In Bed: 3 Reasons Why | achs.edu

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Some students will even map out the specific times they’re going to work each day in their planner. That’s a smart move; I’m for it.

However, have you gone so far as to plan where you’re going to get your work done?

Because most people have the mindset that it doesn’t matter where you work, it’s a non-factor.

I’m here to tell you that where you decide to do homework plays a significant role in how much work you get done, especially as an online student. And what’s the worst place to try to be productive? Your bed. 

Here are three reasons why you’d be better off studying anywhere other than your bed : 

1. Studying in bed limits focus.

Think about all the reasons why you love your bed. The comfort of warm covers, soft pillows, and putting off responsibility by pressing “Snooze” are highly persuasive on their own, but even more so when compared to focusing on your homework. 

Because your bed will tempt you to stop working and sleep, it’s best you don’t put yourself in a position to fail from the start. If you don’t change scenery, you may easily allow the comfort of your bed to suck away your focus. Trust me, I’ve been a victim of this before I wised up. 

And if your bed doesn’t make you lose focus, the other things in your room probably will. Your television, smart phone, or laundry will pull for your attention and offer an avenue to procrastinate.

When you’re looking to focus, a chair and desk is the better choice. The wisest choice is a standing desk, but not everyone has one available. Then, after you’ve done your work, you can relax in your bed feeling accomplished. 

2. Studying in bed decreases productivity.

Even if you can manage to focus in your bed, it’s not a productive place to get work done.

First, the lack of space to spread out your research for a paper or study material for an exam is a concern. You’ll waste time and valuable energy going through papers to find what you’re looking for. At a long desk, you can better assemble and organize your materials.

Second, you have no opportunity to get the productivity boost from standing when you’re laying on your bed for hours working. I’m a big supporter of standing when I work because standing sends fresh blood and oxygen to the brain, which promotes optimal brain function. [1] Your body isn’t designed to sit all day.

Before you think you need to spend hundreds of dollars for a standing desk, try putting your laptop on your dresser, propped up on books or a shelf, or get creative by putting your desk on risers (just be sure it’s safe and sturdy!). You now have a “standing desk” without breaking the bank.

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3. Studying in bed hurts sleep.

I’ve already discussed how working in a place your body associates with sleep can make you lethargic and unable to focus. But on the flip side, working in your bed makes going to sleep harder. Working in your bed is double trouble! 

Because you’ve trained your body to associate your bed as a place to study or get homework done, once you lay in bed to call it a night your mind will continue to think. Studying in bed earlier in the day can actually rob you of rest.

Your body needs adequate sleep to stay healthy , retain new information, handle stress, and perform at its best each day. I wish sleep deprivation on no one. 

So, to protect your focus, productivity, and sleep, now you know not to study in your bed (or even your bedroom, if possible). Since your study space is important, making an effort to find a quiet place where you’re comfortable—but not too comfortable—can be the secret to success.

And don’t forget to try standing to get the most for your mind and body!

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This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent disease. This article has not been reviewed by the FDA. Always consult with your primary care physician or naturopathic doctor before making any significant changes to your health and wellness routine.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a guest blogger for American College of Healthcare Sciences, the Institution that publishes this blog. However, all opinions are my own. This blog may contain affiliate links. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

[1] Behrens, L. (1990). An upright way to improve thinking. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-10-07/features/9003250339_1_brain-power-standing-stimulation

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If You Absolutely Must Work From Your Bed, Posture Pros Say This Is a Must-Read

why is it bad to do homework in bed

While any chiropractor, physical therapist, or posture specialist will tell you that working from bed is  not a good idea (in fact, they rank it as one of the worst possible places you can park yourself for hours on end), it's pretty hard to resist the allure of spending your day lounging on top of a plush pillow top. Plus, for anyone without a dedicated workspace, it may be the only option.

  • Kelli Pearson, DC , Spokane, WA-based chiropractic physician and author of Eight Minutes to Ageless
  • Tami Bulmash , Tami Bulmash is a posture pro who specializes in the Alexander Technique, a process that helps to retrain habitual patterns of movement and posture.

Before you take your next Zoom meeting snuggled up with your duvet, there are a few things pros want you to know about why you should maybe think twice about doing it.  “When you're working from the bed, it doesn't offer the same kind of support that a harder surface, like a wooden chair, would offer, so you sink into it,” says  Tami Bulmash , a posture pro. “The further you sink into the softer surface, the less feedback you have about how you're managing your body.” This feedback, she explains, gives you the tools you need to understand what your spine is doing, so you can tell when you start to slouch, tense up, or curve forward. Because of this, you’re more likely to feel aches and pains from spending time sitting on a mattress—meaning that the comfort it offers in the short term tends to be misleading.

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But if you, like me, are strictly #teambed (despite what literally every expert says), there are a few things you can do to make your go-to workspace slightly kinder on your body.

1. Firm up your mattress

When it comes to working from a mattress, the general rule is “the firmer, the better,” since softer surfaces offer less support. If you don’t want to swap out your pillow top for something more solid, Bulmash suggests putting a piece of plywood on top (which is uncomfortable, but effective). “If you can create a flatter, harder surface, then that would at least be giving your body more feedback and more support,” she explains.

2. Adjust your sitting position

While leaning up against your throw pillows may be comfortable, it's certainly not the best position for your body in the longterm. "If you can sit criss-cross applesauce, place a small pillow below your low back and snuggle up against the backboard," says Kelli Pearson, DC, a chiropractic physician. "When we sit, we should be able to keep a mild forward curve in the lowest part of the lumbar spine, and when we sit with our legs straight out in front of us in bed, that healthy curve is completely removed, putting the discs at great risk for being irritated."

Crossing your legs and giving your back some support will help mitigate the problem. If that's not an option, you can keep your legs straight, but place a small pillow under your knees to take some of the slack out of your hamstrings. You can also try lying on your stomach with your laptop out in front of you, which can offer your spine some relief.

3. Pile on the pillows

In addition to firming up what's  under your body (by way of your mattress), you'll also want to give yourself enough back support. Be sure to place some steady pillows—or even a partner-style pillow —behind your back so that you have something solid to lean on.

4. Get up and move around

It’s never a good idea to stay seated for hours on end, and if you’re working from your bed it’s extra important to get up and move around every 30 minutes. Aside from taking a walk around the block (or at the very least, the house), Bulmash also recommends spending 15 to 20 minutes a day lying flat on the floor with a book under your head to allow your spine to reset, and counteract some of the negative effects your bed working has had on your posture. You can also break to sit on a stool or coffee table (or any other surface that doesn’t have back support) to work your core strength.

5. Invest in a bed desk

The worst possible way to sit, according to Bulmash, is with your body in a C-shape rounded over your laptop. To combat this, try bringing a bed desk— like this one, which you can get on Amazon —into the mix, which will allow you to raise your computer to eye level and cross your legs underneath it so that your back is straight.

Need a little extra stretch after all those hours in bed? Follow along with the video below. 

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What Really Happens to Your Body When You Work All Day From Your Bed or Couch

mixed media graphic showing hands using laptop in bed all day

What Really Happens to Your Body When examines the head-to-toe effects of common behaviors, actions and habits in your everyday life.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have begun working from home, where we'll be for the foreseeable future. But about one in eight Americans live in apartments, which can make it a lot harder to craft your own office space.

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The result? You're often forced to turn your bed or couch into a makeshift home office.

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But while occasionally doing this is fine, if it becomes your routine all day every day, it can start to affect both your physical and mental health, Paul Greene, PhD , director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in New York City, tells LIVESTRONG.com.

Read on to discover how working from your bed or couch affects both your mind and body, and how to make it healthier if it's your only option.

1. Your Back (and Backside) Might Ache

If you're just sitting on your bed without good back support, it seems obvious that your back would start to hurt. But your hips and even your butt may as well.

"You have no place for your legs, so they have to be extended in front of you or crisscrossed , which puts strain on the sacroiliac joint that connects your spine to your hips," explains Theresa Marko, PT , owner of Marko Physical Therapy in New York City.

Since muscles in this position are also bent, or flexed, they'll become stiff and tight and may even shorten over time, "kind of like if you wear high heels every single day," Marko adds.

The couch can also cause back pain, but for a difference reason: It's very low to the ground, which strains your lumbar spine.

2. Your Neck and Shoulders May Feel the Strain

Tired woman feeling neck pain after computer work at home

"If you are using a laptop, you are probably sitting on the edge of the couch or bed with the laptop on your lap or on a coffee or side table," Marko says. "This causes you to slouch, rounding your spine and shoulders and pushing your head forward so that your head and neck stick out like a turtle's."

This puts all sorts of pressure on your neck and upper shoulder muscles.

"Take a finger and bend it backwards — while it doesn't hurt right away, it will after an hour," Marko says. "That's exactly how your poor neck feels."

3. Your Jaw Could Tense, and Your Teeth Might Suffer

This poor posture may actually be wrecking your teeth, too. There's been an uptick in dental patients with cracked teeth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, notes John Nale, DMD, MD , of Carolinas Center for Oral & Facial Surgery.

The nerves in your neck and shoulder muscles lead to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which connects to your jawbone and skull. Poor posture and slouched sitting from the pelvis up results in a forward head posture, curving the spine in a "c shape," as a way for the body to balance itself out naturally. This posture creates tension on the muscles attached to the jaw, creating jaw pain, facial swelling and migraines.

4. Your Wrists May Throb

If you're working from your bed or couch, you most likely are placing the mouse for your laptop on a side table, and resting your wrist right on the table as well. But this can inadvertently decrease blood supply to your hand and compress nerves, which may lead to carpel tunnel syndrome, says Jeffrey Goldstein, MD , an orthopedic spine surgeon with NYU Langone Health in New York City.

Other Effects of Working This Way

overhead shot of woman in bed covering ear

1. Your Risk of Disease Might Increase

Any extended periods of sitting — including at your bed or couch — can be harmful to your overall health.

An October 2018 study published in the ‌ American Journal of Epidemiology ‌ followed over 125,000 men and women for 21 years and found that those who sat more than six hours a day had a higher risk of death from all causes, including heart disease, cancer and kidney disease.

One reason may simply be that the more sedentary you are, the more likely you are to gain weight, which is a risk factor for many of these diseases, Dr. Goldstein points out. Another theory is that it alters levels of certain hormones in your blood, such as insulin, which in turn can raise your risk of disease.

2. Your Sleep May Suffer

"Our minds associate places with activities, so if you work in bed, it's likely to interfere with your sleep sooner or later," says Greene.

This is because your body will start linking your bed to work, confusing sleep mode with work mode and all of its attending stressors, which makes it harder to nod off .

3. Your Productivity Might Plummet

If you're working from your bed or couch, it may be easier to slide into other behaviors, like not showering and staying in your pajamas for most of the day (if you bother changing at all).

"Part of the benefit of working in an office, or an office-like environment, is it forces your mind to go into work mode, which helps you concentrate and be more productive," explains Greene.

But if your office is now where you sleep or veg and watch Netflix, it can be harder to stay motivated.

Related Reading

The 6 Best Office Chairs for Healthy Posture

6 Tips for a Healthier Work-From-Home Strategy

Woman learning the janu sirsasana pose

1. Take Frequent Breaks to Get Your Body Moving

The Mayo Clinic recommends taking a break from sitting every 30 minutes. One option is to do a quick jog up and down the stairs to loosen all your muscles and joints.

Neck and jaw stretches also can help ease tense facial muscles. Try these:

  • With your shoulders back and chest up, pull your chin down and back, creating a "double chin." Hold for three seconds and repeat 10 times.
  • Place your thumb under your chin and open your mouth slowly, pressing gently against your chin for resistance. Hold for five seconds and then close the mouth slowly.
  • With your tongue touching the roof of your mouth, slowly open and close your mouth.
  • Place a small object between the front teeth (a toothbrush will work). As you maintain bite on the object, move your jaw from side to side.

2. Invest in an Inexpensive Tray Table

This will help bring the computer towards you and closer so you don't slouch, says Marko. (You can prop it up on top of a pillow to raise its height if it's otherwise too low.)

3. Pad Up With Pillows

If your de-facto office is your home or couch, pillows are your new best friends, says Marko.

First, sit on a pillow — preferably a big fluffy one — to raise up your butt: "It will open up your hips a bit, so that there's less strain on your back," she explains.

If you're on a couch, also place a pillow behind you to support your back. While you're at it, invest in a pillow pad for your laptop or tablet too (like this one , $19.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond). This will help prop it up so that the top is a little below your eye level.

"You want it set up so that you can comfortably reach your keyboard with T-rex arms — your upper arms glued to your ribcage," explains Kate Ayoub, PT, DPT, MPH , a physical therapist and certified ergonomics health coach in Washington, DC.

4. Create Your Own Standing Desk

You can take a break from sitting (and mitigate many of its negative health effects) by switching to a standing desk model, advises Marko. Simply switch to working at your kitchen counter or bedroom dresser. Alternate between an hour of sitting and 30 minutes of standing. If you have a breakfast bar with stools, you can also try sitting there once or twice a day.

"Since stools don't have backs, it'll force your body into active sitting, which strengthens your back and core, as opposed to supportive sitting," says Marko.

5. Invest in a Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

Laptops weren't designed to be used for full workdays — they were designed for portability, says Ayoub. Why does that matter?

"If your arms and wrists are in a good spot, your head will be bent to see the screen, but if you raise the laptop to put your head and neck in a good position, the muscles in your shoulders and wrists will be overworking and probably cause some pain," she explains.

If you have a wireless keyboard (like this one , $24.99 from Staples), you can position it how it's ergonomically best for you.

6. Symbolically Separate Your Workspace

In a perfect world, you'd have a whole room, or at least a corner of it, that would be designated as your home office, says Greene. But if you live in cramped quarters or with a lot of people, that's not always realistic.

If you must work from your bed or sofa, Greene recommends finding some way to designate it as a workspace for several hours of the day — for example, taking all your bedroom knickknacks off your bed and night table and replacing them with work supplies such as pens, paper clips and staplers.

Another must do: Change out of your pajamas before the start of the work day.

"If you can set up a whole morning routine — you get up, get dressed and then go out to Starbucks for a coffee — it will help propel you into work mode," Greene says.

mixed media graphic of anatomy doll sitting in rolling desk chair looking at phone, concept of poor posture

What Really Happens to Your Body When You Have Poor Posture

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What Really Happens to Your Body When You're Stressed

  • National Apartment Association: United States Needs 4.6 Million New Apartments By 2030 or It Will Face A Serious Shortage
  • American Journal of Epidemiology: Prolonged Leisure Time Spent Sitting in Relation to Cause-Specific Mortality in a Large US Cohort
  • Mayo Clinic: What Are the Risks of Sitting Too Much

Is this an emergency? If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, please see the National Library of Medicine’s list of signs you need emergency medical attention or call 911.

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Why you shouldn’t work from bed (and a guide to doing it anyway)

It may not be recommended, but, from necessity or choice, many of us find ourselves working from them. Here’s how to set up your perfect bed office

E verybody who knows what they’re talking about will tell you not to do it, but the lure of bed is hard to resist for any home worker. Or it may have become a necessity. With children home schooling, or in a cramped flatshare, your bed may be the only place you can get any peace (although many people living and working with chronic illness will be rolling their eyes at the idea that working from bed has only just been invented).

During the first lockdown, one survey , by Uswitch.com, found a quarter of home workers had worked from bed. Ten months into the on-off lockdown, more of us are doing it than ever. “We’ve found that up to 40% of people who have worked from home during lockdown have worked from their bed at some point,” says Catherine Quinn, president of the British Chiropractic Association.

Of course, you know you’re not supposed to have devices in the bedroom, that your bed is only meant for sleep and sex, that good posture is easier at a desk (Quinn says bed-working can cause or exacerbate back pain), that you don’t need to be encouraged into even more sedentary behaviour. But it’s January, the world is grim, and many of us, even if forced back under the covers by circumstances, will have discovered the joys of working from bed.

Far from being indulgent and indolent, the practice may spark creativity and productivity – memorably, Samuel Johnson, Edith Wharton, Marcel Proust, Florence Nightingale and William Wordsworth all worked from bed. Contemporary writers, including Monica Ali , do, too. View it also as a rebellion against the corporate ridiculousness of standing desks, or worse, those with treadmills . They seem very 2019.

Still, it can be healthy to create some boundaries between work and rest. I delineate the two by getting washed, dressed and then climbing into my boyfriend’s side of the bed (he has better pillows, which we’ll come to, and I don’t have to worry about spilling crumbs on my side). I have regularly worked from bed for about a decade, and this is what I’ve learned about what you need to get started.

Consider a tray table or laptop stand

It may change your working life or it may become a piece of useless clutter. “It’s important to keep your laptop in front of you at eye height to avoid any strain on your neck,” says Quinn. “There are some fairly cheap laptop stands you can purchase to use at home, which will help provide support when working in this position.” I know Quinn will disapprove, but they don’t work for me. I like to sit cross-legged, so the fold-out legs of a tray table get in the way. I swapped it for one that looks like a tray stuck to a beanbag, which was fine for a while, but became stained with drink-spillage.

Sometimes, I use a pillow with a coffee-table book on top as a makeshift version, but most of the time I do without. It’s probably not great for your laptop’s air vents (or your neck), but it feels much less restrictive – I want to feel free and comfortable, not trapped under furniture. A table that you roll over the bed is an option, but feels like an extreme investment for bed-working, and a bit too “hospital room” for me. (Ikea does a metal and glass one that doesn’t whisper “convalescence”.)

Don’t use your tray table for drinks and snacks

See stains, above. Use your bedside table for cups of tea and snacks, or get a small side table (a folding one feels less permanent). You could use a high-sided tray to keep on the bed next to you for drinks, but you will still end up with spillages at least once a week. Don’t be tempted to get a mini fridge or kettle – you need to be regularly up and moving around, and getting out of bed is hard. Hunting for snacks is my main motivation.

Don’t use your tray table for drinks.

Keep a basket by the bed

This is your “desk drawer” and where you keep chargers, pens, notepads and emergency biscuits. The point of using a basket, rather than keeping everything in a bedside drawer, is that it’s mobile (a carrier bag would do, but is less attractive). If you’re the sort of person who enjoys working from bed, you’re probably the sort of person who would also enjoy working from the sofa (or someone else’s bed) for an occasional change of scene. Some tasks are better done from a desk or table, so don’t label yourself only a “bed worker”. And it is helpful to remove your work basket from your room when it’s time to go to sleep.

Get new pillows

You can buy ergonomic cushions and back supports that may work for you. For a while, I tried reclining against a V-shaped pregnancy pillow, but I kept sinking backwards into it until I was wearing it like a wimple. I like to be upright, with arms free, so in my view a few simple, firm pillows or cushions should be all you need. You probably have these in the house already – borrow from other people, or the sofa. “Beds don’t have the same support as a desk chair,” says Quinn. “Make sure your lower back is fully supported by using pillows and sitting up against your headboard.”

Mix up the position you work in.

Change your position

“Our bodies love variation, so my top piece of advice is to try to mix up the position you work in,” says Quinn. “If you work from your bedroom, consider using your chest of drawers as a standing desk, for example. It’s also great to incorporate movement into your day, so try something as simple as a 10-minute yoga routine in the morning, doing one work call a day standing up or popping out for a 20-minute walk over your lunch break.” I know the point is to get up and move around, but working in bed doesn’t have to mean being supine and stationary – I move around and stretch fairly constantly.

Think about your working environment

The danger with working from bed – apart from potential long-term back pain and accidentally falling asleep – is you can become too relaxed and start to fester. I get washed and dressed before going back to bed to work, and my bedroom is clean and relatively tidy. A towering unread book pile, and the sedimentary layers of clean-enough clothes on a chair is not going to be a pleasant workplace. You might be spending upwards of 16 hours a day in your bedroom – open the windows.

It’s worth having lovely – and plain – duvet covers. I find patterned linen distracting and busy. If you wouldn’t buy a desk covered in roses or imperial stormtroopers, get something neutral for your bed. A throw or rug will do, even if you only use it when you’re working. It will also create a boundary. “These visual cues will help you get in the mindset for either work or wind-down time,” says Quinn.

Ensure you have a good power supply

An extension lead is handy so you can have a laptop, phone charger or lamp plugged in. Alternatively, you may need to invest in longer charging cables to reach a plug.

And good wifi

Does the wifi reach the bedroom? If not, there are ways to boost it . I get a better signal in my bedroom than much of the rest of the house.

When I interviewed Paloma Faith , we were both in bed. Interviewing the writer Kate Mosse from bed recently (me, not her), she said it was “very French, you’re kind of receiving people in your boudoir”. This is definitely the feel I’m going for – not slattern.

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Teens, Sleep and Homework Survey Results

Better sleep council research finds that too much homework can actually hurt teens' performance in school.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. , Dec. 11, 2018 – According to new research from the Better Sleep Council (BSC) – the nonprofit consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association – homework, rather than social pressure, is the number one cause of teenage stress, negatively affecting their sleep and ultimately impacting their academic performance.

American teenagers said they spend 15+ hours a week on homework, and about one-third (34%) of all teens spend 20 or more hours a week. This is more than time spent at work, school clubs, social activities and sports. When asked what causes stress in their lives, about three-quarters of teens said grades/test scores (75%) and/or homework (74%) cause stress, more than self-esteem (51%), parental expectations (45%) and even bullying (15%). In fact, according to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ Survey, during the school year, teenagers say they experience stress levels higher than those reported by adults.

Further, more than half (57%) of all teenagers surveyed do not feel they get enough sleep. Seventy-nine percent reported getting 7 hours of sleep or less on a typical school night, more than two-thirds (67%) say they only get 5 to 7 hours of sleep on a school night, and only about one in five teens is getting 8 hours of sleep or more. Based on the BSC’s findings, the more stressed teenagers feel, the more likely they are to get less sleep, go to bed later and wake up earlier. They are also more likely to have trouble going to sleep and staying asleep – more often than their less-stressed peers.

“We’re finding that teenagers are experiencing this cycle where they sacrifice their sleep to spend extra time on homework, which gives them more stress – but they don’t get better grades,” said Mary Helen Rogers , vice president of marketing and communications for the Better Sleep Council. “The BSC understands the impact sleep has on teenagers’ overall development, so we can help them reduce this stress through improved sleep habits.”

The BSC recommends that teens between the ages of 13-18 get 8-10 hours of sleep per night. For teens to get the sleep their bodies need for optimal school performance, they should consider the following tips:

  • Establish a consistent bedtime routine . Just like they set time aside for homework, they should schedule at least 8 hours of sleep into their daily calendars. It may be challenging in the beginning, but it will help in the long run.
  • Keep it quiet in the bedroom.  It’s easier to sleep when there isn’t extra noise. Teens may even want to wear earplugs if their home is too noisy.
  • Create a relaxing sleep environment. Make sure the bedroom is clutter-free, dark and conducive to great sleep. A cool bedroom, between 65 and 67 degrees , is ideal to help teens sleep.
  • Cut back on screen time. Try cutting off screen time at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted from electronics’ screens disturbs sleep.
  • Examine their mattress. Since a mattress is an important component of a good night’s sleep, consider replacing it if it isn’t providing comfort and support, or hasn’t been changed in at least seven years.

Other takeaways on the relationship between homework, stress and sleep in teenagers include:

  • Teens who feel more stress (89%) are more likely than less-stressed teens (65%) to say homework causes them stress in their lives.
  • More than three-quarters (76%) of teens who feel more stress say they don’t feel they get enough sleep – which is significantly higher than teens who are not stressed, since only 42% of them feel they don’t get enough sleep.
  • Teens who feel more stress (51%) are more likely than less-stressed teens (35%) to get to bed at 11 p.m. or later. Among these teens who are going to bed later, about 33% of them said they are waking up at 6:00 a.m. or earlier.
  • Students who go to bed earlier and awaken earlier perform better academically than those who stay up late – even to do homework.

About the BSC The Better Sleep Council is the consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, the trade association for the mattress industry. With decades invested in improving sleep quality, the BSC educates consumers on the link between sleep and health, and the role of the sleep environment, primarily through www.bettersleep.org , partner support and consumer outreach.

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why is it bad to do homework in bed

Pepperdine Graphic

Don’t Study in Bed

November 8, 2017 by Carolina Pinto

Graphic by Nate Barton

It’s very important that students find a good place where they can study and be productive. Some people like the library, others like their rooms. However, research has found that studying in bed can be unhealthy.

Some of the reasons why studying or getting work done in bed could be disadvantageous for college students include: focus limitation, decreased productivity and sleep issues, according to Brian Robben’s article “ Never Do Homework In Bed: 3 Reasons Why, ” published Oct. 1, 2016 by American College of Healthcare Sciences.

Working or doing homework in bed will reduce one’s focus because most people tend to associate their beds with comfort and sleep. Doing such activities in bed can lead to a deviation of the brain to become more lazy and possibly fall asleep. “The comfort of warm covers, soft pillows, and putting off responsibility by pressing ‘Snooze’ are highly persuasive on their own, but even more so when compared to focusing on your homework,” according to Robben’s article.

Avoiding studying in bed could lead to a better and more profound sleep. “Keeping computers, TVs, and work materials out of the room will strengthen the mental association between your bedroom and sleep,” according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School’s article “ Twelve Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep, ” published Dec. 18, 2007.

Studying in bed can be detrimental to one’s productivity, because it is not efficient to have paperwork and books on a surface that is not flat and solid. Furthermore, studying in bed does not allow the proper blood flow to the brain, which “sends fresh blood and oxygen to the brain, [promoting] optimal brain function,” according to Robben’s article.

Sitting in bed to do schoolwork can be very harmful to one’s health, especially posture. “Slouching can be bad for your back, due to lack of lumbar support. A neck bent too sharply can also negatively affect your posture and cause pain,” according to Hilary Lebow’s article “ 5 Reasons To Get Your Desk Out Of Your Bedroom, ” published Aug. 5, 2016, by Alternative Daily.

For more focus, productivity and sleep, it is crucial that college students are aware of the disadvantages of studying in bed. Instead, students should find a desk, go to the library, or a classroom. This will allow students to sit up straight and have their thoughts organized, as they are not in the comfort of their beds.

_________________

Follow Carolina Pinto on Twitter: @caroli_mmp

why is it bad to do homework in bed

Why You Shouldn’t Do Work In Your Bedroom

In our modern world, finding a balance between work and personal life has become more challenging than ever. with remote work on the rise, it’s tempting to turn our bedrooms into makeshift offices. however, it’s important to pause and consider the potential drawbacks of blurring the lines between our workspace and our sanctuary of rest. .

Let’s delve into why you shouldn’t do work in your bedroom and how it can potentially affect your daily life.

Drawbacks of Working From Your Bedroom

Working from your bedroom sounds like a cozy option, but it can be disruptive to both your work and personal life. 

Impacts Sleep

Working from the bedroom can cause some people to associate their surroundings with work rather than sleep, which can make it difficult to relax at bedtime.

Limits Productivity

Working in the bedroom can also make people less productive because they are surrounded by their place of leisure. Some people may become distracted by all of the items in their bedroom, which can decrease focus and concentration.

Creates Poor Work-Life Balance

When work encroaches on your personal space, and your personal life encroaches on work, you may not be balancing either efficiently. This makes it easy to become stuck in work or leisure mode, which creates poor work-life balance.

When someone works from their bedroom, they generally don’t have the best desk set-up. This leaves them working from bed or from a couch, which creates terrible posture. Slouching is not only bad for your body, but it is bad for productivity too. 

Woman wearing face mask working from bedroom

Best Ways To Work From Home

Working from home can affect your sleep , but it doesn’t have to. There are ways you can optimize your work-life balance, even while working from home. 

Create A Comfortable Environment

It’s important to create an environment that is conducive to work. This means you need to be comfortable, so adjusting your desk to the right height and using a comfortable chair is crucial. You should also avoid working from bed or from a couch, and if at all possible, keep your work life outside of your bedroom. 

If your bedroom is the only place that you can work, then use a room divider to separate your workspace from the sleeping and leisure space. You will also want to keep your workspace free from clutter, which can be distracting when you are trying to get things done. 

Create A Consistent Morning Routine

When you’re working from home, it often takes a little more discipline to get out of bed and start your day. Creating a consistent morning routine that becomes a habit can make this process a whole lot easier. 

why is it bad to do homework in bed

Consider adding a few of these elements to your morning routine to start the day off on the right foot. 

  • Goal setting
  • Creating a schedule
  • Express gratitude
  • Connect with family or friends
  • Eat a healthy breakfast
  • Clean your space
  • Spend time in nature

While you probably won’t be able to add all of these to your morning routine, you will likely feel better from adding just a few of these habits.

Avoid Working In Your Pajamas

Working in your pajamas doesn’t set you up to have the right mindset for work. Once you get up, get dressed, and ready for the workday, your mind will feel more ready to dive into the workday ahead. 

It will also help you to feel a little more prepared and presentable if you need to hop on a call with a colleague or a meeting with a client.

Work Regular Hours

If you work regular work hours, it’s easier to stay disciplined throughout the day. Whereas if you break up your day into too many different work slots, you end up being distracted frequently. It also means you may have to catch up on work that wasn’t finished during the day in your leisure time, which should be avoided. 

Schedule Breaks

It’s important to schedule breaks, giving yourself a chance to get up, move around, stretch your legs and take a break from your computer. Everyone is able to concentrate for different lengths of time, but many sources believe it’s ideal to take a five-minute break every 25 minutes .  

A woman drinks tea on a park bench

When you take longer breaks to have lunch, ensure you are not doing so in front of your laptop. Eating in front of your computer makes you feel like you haven’t taken a break at all. So try to get out of the house, take a walk, or eat in your lounge or garden to get away from your work environment. 

Stay Connected With Coworkers

When everyone is working from their own little abode, it can be hard to stay connected with those you work with. But there are ways you can stay connected, no matter how far you are from your colleagues. 

Checking in with close colleagues on a regular basis, switching your camera on in meetings, and participating in meeting small talk are great ways to keep your finger on the pulse. Reading company updates and participating in online team-building activities can also help you to stay connected. 

If you start taking your work into the bedroom it can be unhealthy because your brain will start to associate your bedroom with productivity. This can make it harder to sleep at night, leaving you feeling tired in the morning.

Yes, working in your bedroom can affect your sleep. If you work in your bedroom, your brain may start to associate your bedroom with working. This can make it harder to get to sleep at night. 

Your brain already associates your bed with rest and recuperation, so doing your homework in bed will likely make you feel tired and unfocused.

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why is it bad to do homework in bed

Tyla Oliver

Candida Fink M.D.

Homework Struggles May Not Be a Behavior Problem

Exploring some options to understand and help..

Posted August 2, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

  • Mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental differences directly affect children's ability to do homework.
  • Understanding what difficulties are getting in the way—beyond the usual explanation of a behavior problem—is key.
  • Sleep and mental health needs can take priority over homework completion.

Chelsea was in 10th grade the first time I told her directly to stop doing her homework and get some sleep. I had been working with her since she was in middle school, treating her anxiety disorder. She deeply feared disappointing anyone—especially her teachers—and spent hours trying to finish homework perfectly. The more tired and anxious she got, the harder it got for her to finish the assignments.

Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

One night Chelsea called me in despair, feeling hopeless. She was exhausted and couldn’t think straight. She felt like a failure and that she was a burden to everyone because she couldn’t finish her homework.

She was shocked when I told her that my prescription for her was to go to sleep now—not to figure out how to finish her work. I told her to leave her homework incomplete and go to sleep. We briefly discussed how we would figure it out the next day, with her mom and her teachers. At that moment, it clicked for her that it was futile to keep working—because nothing was getting done.

This was an inflection point for her awareness of when she was emotionally over-cooked and when she needed to stop and take a break or get some sleep. We repeated versions of this phone call several times over the course of her high school and college years, but she got much better at being able to do this for herself most of the time.

When Mental Health Symptoms Interfere with Homework

Kids with mental health or neurodevelopmental challenges often struggle mightily with homework. Challenges can come up in every step of the homework process, including, but not limited to:

  • Remembering and tracking assignments and materials
  • Getting the mental energy/organization to start homework
  • Filtering distractions enough to persist with assignments
  • Understanding unspoken or implied parts of the homework
  • Remembering to bring finished homework to class
  • Being in class long enough to know the material
  • Tolerating the fear of not knowing or failing
  • Not giving up the assignment because of a panic attack
  • Tolerating frustration—such as not understanding—without emotional dysregulation
  • Being able to ask for help—from a peer or a teacher and not being afraid to reach out

This list is hardly comprehensive. ADHD , autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety , generalized anxiety, panic disorder, depression , dysregulation, and a range of other neurodevelopmental and mental health challenges cause numerous learning differences and symptoms that can specifically and frequently interfere with getting homework done.

Saharak Wuttitham/Shutterstock

The Usual Diagnosis for Homework Problems is "Not Trying Hard Enough"

Unfortunately, when kids frequently struggle to meet homework demands, teachers and parents typically default to one explanation of the problem: The child is making a choice not to do their homework. That is the default “diagnosis” in classrooms and living rooms. And once this framework is drawn, the student is often seen as not trying hard enough, disrespectful, manipulative, or just plain lazy.

The fundamental disconnect here is that the diagnosis of homework struggles as a behavioral choice is, in fact, only one explanation, while there are so many other diagnoses and differences that impair children's ability to consistently do their homework. If we are trying to create solutions based on only one understanding of the problem, the solutions will not work. More devastatingly, the wrong solutions can worsen the child’s mental health and their long-term engagement with school and learning.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about children who sometimes struggle with or skip homework—kids who can change and adapt their behaviors and patterns in response to the outcomes of that struggle. For this discussion, we are talking about children with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental symptoms and challenges that create chronic difficulties with meeting homework demands.

How Can You Help a Child Who Struggles with Homework?

How can you help your child who is struggling to meet homework demands because of their ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD , school avoidance, or any other neurodevelopmental or mental health differences? Let’s break this down into two broad areas—things you can do at home, and things you can do in communication with the school.

why is it bad to do homework in bed

Helping at Home

The following suggestions for managing school demands at home can feel counterintuitive to parents—because we usually focus on helping our kids to complete their tasks. But mental health needs jump the line ahead of task completion. And starting at home will be key to developing an idea of what needs to change at school.

  • Set an end time in the evening after which no more homework will be attempted. Kids need time to decompress and they need sleep—and pushing homework too close to or past bedtime doesn’t serve their educational needs. Even if your child hasn’t been able to approach the homework at all, even if they have avoided and argued the whole evening, it is still important for everyone to have a predictable time to shut down the whole process.
  • If there are arguments almost every night about homework, if your child isn’t starting homework or finishing it, reframe it from failure into information. It’s data to put into problem-solving. We need to consider other possible explanations besides “behavioral choice” when trying to understand the problem and create effective solutions. What problems are getting in the way of our child’s meeting homework demands that their peers are meeting most of the time?
  • Try not to argue about homework. If you can check your own anxiety and frustration, it can be more productive to ally with your child and be curious with them. Kids usually can’t tell you a clear “why” but maybe they can tell you how they are feeling and what they are thinking. And if your child can’t talk about it or just keeps saying “I don't know,” try not to push. Come back another time. Rushing, forcing, yelling, and threatening will predictably not help kids do homework.

Lapina/Shutterstock

Helping at School

The second area to explore when your neurodiverse child struggles frequently with homework is building communication and connections with school and teachers. Some places to focus on include the following.

  • Label your child’s diagnoses and break down specific symptoms for the teachers and school team. Nonjudgmental, but specific language is essential for teachers to understand your child’s struggles. Breaking their challenges down into the problems specific to homework can help with building solutions. As your child gets older, help them identify their difficulties and communicate them to teachers.
  • Let teachers and the school team know that your child’s mental health needs—including sleep—take priority over finishing homework. If your child is always struggling to complete homework and get enough sleep, or if completing homework is leading to emotional meltdowns every night, adjusting their homework demands will be more successful than continuing to push them into sleep deprivation or meltdowns.
  • Request a child study team evaluation to determine if your child qualifies for services under special education law such as an IEP, or accommodations through section 504—and be sure that homework adjustments are included in any plan. Or if such a plan is already in place, be clear that modification of homework expectations needs to be part of it.

The Long-Term Story

I still work with Chelsea and she recently mentioned how those conversations so many years ago are still part of how she approaches work tasks or other demands that are spiking her anxiety when she finds herself in a vortex of distress. She stops what she is doing and prioritizes reducing her anxiety—whether it’s a break during her day or an ending to the task for the evening. She sees that this is crucial to managing her anxiety in her life and still succeeding at what she is doing.

Task completion at all costs is not a solution for kids with emotional needs. Her story (and the story of many of my patients) make this crystal clear.

Candida Fink M.D.

Candida Fink, M.D. , is board certified in child/adolescent and general psychiatry. She practices in New York and has co-authored two books— The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child and Bipolar Disorder for Dummies.

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Ergonomic Tips for Working in a Bed

Long hours working from a bed is detrimental to your posture, causing both long-term and short-term discomfort. There are many problems associated with working in bed, including practicing bad ergonomic posture.

While working in a bed is hardly ideal, some individuals have no choice. They may be suffering from an injury or illness that leaves them bed-bound. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to protect your posture and health:

Improve Posture with Pillows

Working from bed requires supporting the back and neck when sleeping, but your sleeping pillows are not recommended for this . Since you are sitting on a bed, which is already a soft surface, you need the extra lumbar support a wedge pillow provides, or one that has extra filling that supports the lower back. An ideal support pillow should be extra-long, enough to contour from your spine to your shoulder and back. The goal is to have you sitting up fairly straight, as if you were sitting on a chair.

Light for Working, Not Just Reading

Your lighting has to be as good as you would have it at your desk or reading chair. Your task light should not cast shadows on your work material or create glare. If either one occurs, try to reposition the light. The shade may need to be higher on a night table to be able to disperse more light, in which case, it can be placed on a hard book or two to elevate it. Another option is a wall lamp.

Ambient light is also important, when working on the bed you tend to use more space than if you were reading. It is sensible to have more than just a reading lamp to illuminate your work area.

Elevate Your Workspace

Consider purchasing lap desks, bed trays, or cushions for laptop use while in bed. They will slightly elevate the work surface, which helps to maintain a good posture and encourages longer work.

Transition from Work to Sleep

Sleep experts recommend not to work in bed at night , especially if you already suffer from insomnia. But if this habit is not one you are planning to break, then add some decompression time to help with work-sleep transitioning. For many of us, this includes reading and watching TV.

Find Your Best Time

Working in bed doesn’t have to be a nocturnal activity. Some people work in bed in the mornings and feel best at that time. Although this can make you stay there till noon, which is not healthy. Get out of the bed every 30 to 45 minutes to stretch your legs and refresh as blood circulation improves. You will find that you return better, and more relaxed.

Working on a bed cannot replace having a dedicated home office. To achieve an optimal ergonomic workstation, it is important to hire a Specialist to examine your current workplace. At Accredited Rehabilitation Consultants,  we can evaluate your current workspace , find ways to make it more ergonomic, and then provide and install the necessary equipment to do so. To learn more,  contact us today !

Pulse Nigeria

Here's why homework is bad according to research

It is probably best that schools ban homework totally.

For as long as we can all remember, homework has long been a part of the education system.

It is said that homework is a great way to reinforce learning, promote independent study habits, and prepare students for academic success.

However, recent research has revealed that homework might just have some negative effects. These include;

Negative impact on mental health

One reason why homework is bad is that it can have a negative impact on students' mental health. Excessive homework has been linked to increased stress, anxiety, and even depression, particularly among high school students who are already grappling with academic pressure and social obligations.

It reduces family time

Kids and students these days spend a lot of hours in school, and homework can encroach upon valuable family time when they are at home, depriving students of opportunities to bond with their loved ones, pursue hobbies, and engage in extracurricular activities. This lack of balance can lead to feelings of isolation and resentment, ultimately undermining the quality of family relationships.

It's not that effective in reinforcing learning

Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that homework may have limited effectiveness in reinforcing learning, especially when it involves rote memorisation or busywork. Instead of deepening understanding and mastery of concepts, excessive homework can lead to surface-level learning and a focus on grades rather than genuine comprehension.

Loss of interest in learning

Homework leads to stress in some students and this can in turn affect students' intrinsic motivation to learn and explore new ideas. Instead of making them love learning, excessive homework can instil a sense of apathy and disengagement, leading students to view education as a chore rather than a source of inspiration.

Impact on physical health

Spending long hours hunched over textbooks and screens trying to complete homework can take a toll on students' physical health, contributing to issues such as eyestrain, headaches, and poor posture. Lack of sufficient sleep, often a result of late-night homework sessions, can further compound these problems and impair cognitive function.

With these few reasons explaining why homework is bad, it is probably best that schools should ban homework totally. Or maybe I'm being biased because I actually hate doing homework, what do you think?

                  Homework might just have some negative effects [Education Hub]                 ©(c) provided by Pulse Nigeria

The ‘Homework Gap’ Is About to Get Worse. What Should Schools Do?

why is it bad to do homework in bed

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A program that provides discounted broadband internet service to low-income households is expected to run out of funding by the end of April, a concerning development for school districts with families that relied on the subsidy.

With the Affordable Connectivity Program , eligible families can receive a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service. For those on qualifying tribal lands, the discount is up to $75 per month. The program also provides a one-time discount to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

Nearly 23 million households have enrolled in the program since it launched in 2021, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which runs the program. However, the agency stopped accepting new enrollments as of Feb. 8 and said it will disenroll all households from the program at the end of April, unless Congress provides additional funding.

Schools are increasingly relying on technology for teaching and learning, from learning management systems to multimedia curriculum to internet research. In some cases, schools are turning inclement weather days into remote learning days . So it’s even more imperative that students have sufficient internet connectivity and devices to access learning materials while at home.

‘It’s a huge equity problem’

Educators and advocates say the possible sunsetting of the Affordable Connectivity Program could worsen the so-called “ homework gap ”—a phrase used to describe the inequities between students who have digital devices and reliable internet connectivity at home, and those who don’t and struggle to complete online assignments as a result.

“My fear is that, with this funding running out, we’re going to have either more families not having access to those services, or more families having to go someplace with open Wi-Fi that maybe isn’t as secure as it should be,” said Chantell Manahan, the director of technology for Steuben County schools, a 2,600-student district in rural northeast Indiana. The program’s expiration could also mean more “families away from home, sitting in parking lots like they were during the pandemic, and that’s not a good place for our students and families to be.”

In 2024, [internet access is] not a luxury anymore. This is a necessity to participate in modern society.

The expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program doesn’t just affect students, but parents, too.

“Many schools rely on online communications platforms to communicate with parents and guardians about their student’s progress, school activities, and other important information. If families lose affordable internet access, this [communication] channel may be compromised,” said Julia Fallon, the executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

Sometimes, a school-issued device is the only one available to use at home, so parents also use it to look for jobs, do online coursework, or attend telehealth appointments, Manahan said.

“It’s not just a K-12 education problem. It’s a community problem. It’s a huge equity problem,” she added.

Will Congress provide more funding for ACP?

The Affordable Connectivity Program first launched as the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which was part of a pandemic relief package signed by former President Donald Trump in 2020. The next year, the program was codified as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden.

But the program has run through much of the initial $17.4 billion allocated by Congress, including $14.2 billion from the infrastructure law and $3.2 billion from its emergency predecessor.

Photo of African-American boy working on laptop computer at home.

In January, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the Senate and the House of Representatives that would provide $7 billion to keep the Affordable Connectivity Program operational.

It’s unclear how much traction the bill will receive, but several FCC commissioners and advocacy groups have applauded the bill and urged Congress to pass the measure.

Districts look for other solutions

In the meantime, district leaders are having tough conversations about how to provide adequate internet access to students and families who relied on the program.

In Steuben County, Manahan said the district might go back to solutions it used before the Affordable Connectivity Program, such as partnerships with local businesses and organizations that would let families come in and use their Wi-Fi for virtual learning.

The district has Wi-Fi hotspot devices it can lend to students, too, though Manahan is unsure how many of those devices the district can keep after funding runs out. The devices were originally funded through ESSER and the Emergency Connectivity Fund , both of which are also expiring this year.

High angle shot of a man assisting his students at computers

Fortunately, Manahan said, the FCC’s E-rate funding will now cover putting Wi-Fi on school buses .

“It’ll be much more cost-effective for the district to be able to outfit all the buses,” she said. “We know there are some places where we might be able to park those buses and have internet access available.”

Along with school bus Wi-Fi, the district could also extend the reach of the Wi-Fi on school buildings so students, families, and staff can use it in the parking lot, she said.

“I can only hope that if we do see both ACP and ECF sunsetting that they’re going to divert those funds to other programs [that would provide] internet access into all our homes,” Manahan said. “In 2024, it’s not a luxury anymore. This is a necessity to participate in modern society.”

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How Long Is Too Long to Stay in Bed?

Asking for a friend.

A woman lying in bed with her eyes open and a sheet covering her chin. Her arm is resting across her forehead.

By Elizabeth Passarella

When the house is freezing and it’s still dark outside, it feels reasonable, even noble, to relish extra minutes in bed.

On TikTok, some celebrate this cozy morning loafing as “hurkle-durkling,” referencing an old Scottish phrase for spending idle time awake in bed. Whether you want to huddle under the blankets and hurkle-durkle — or, like some TikTok users, you just seem to enjoy gleefully saying the phrase — the trend is a reminder that it’s OK to reclaim a bit of leisure time.

Why it feels so good to lean into lounging

Staying in bed after you wake up is appealing because we crave agency, said Eleanor McGlinchey, a sleep psychologist at Manhattan Therapy Collective and associate professor of psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Much like “revenge bedtime procrastination” — the act of staying up too long to make up for the hours you spent working or caring for others during the day — lolling about in the morning is front-loading that “me” time before responsibilities invade. Any parent can attest to how savagely the veil between sleep and packing lunches is torn. Who wouldn’t prefer a cup of coffee and a fluffy pillow to answering “Have you seen my soccer uniform?”

(Of course, the people who likely most need a hurkle-durkle can least afford to indulge.)

For those who do take part, it’s important to set limits. Quality time for yourself can slip into something more detrimental — such as a mindless hour or even longer on social media (perhaps looking for more Scottish inspiration to stay in bed).

“For some people, picking up their phones and scrolling email or turning on the news while in bed makes them more stressed,” Dr. McGlinchey said. “So now you’ve lazed around in bed and feel worse.”

So plan ahead for how you want to spend your free minutes in bed.

“I tell people to do whatever they are going to do on purpose,” Dr. McGlinchey said. “Don’t be at the mercy of notifications that come in overnight. Be intentional with the time.” If answering a few urgent emails from bed lets you relax a bit without worrying about diving right into work, for example, it’s a net positive.

“It’s important to have a say in how your day starts, especially for people who, as soon as they get out of bed, are on call as caregivers,” she said. “But give yourself a certain amount of time. Journal. Listen to music.”

People who struggle with insomnia or have other health conditions that affect their sleep may try to go to bed earlier, even if they aren’t sleepy, or lie in bed awake in the morning in an attempt to get rest. But that can be a mistake, because “your body learns to be in bed awake,” said Dr. Alcibiades J. Rodriguez, a neurologist and medical director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center-Sleep Center at NYU Langone Health.

Is there an acceptable limit to my loafing?

There is no hard and fast rule about how long is too long to huddle under the covers after you wake up, but if this happens daily, 15 to 30 minutes should be enough for most people. “If you wake up and feel good and this is part of your routine, you don’t have to stop,” said Dr. Marjorie Soltis, a sleep medicine specialist and an assistant professor of neurology at Duke University School of Medicine. “But I think 30 minutes is a good threshold.”

Lounging in bed is not a substitute for sleep. “But you should listen to your body,” she said. “If you feel better after resting a bit, you may be getting some benefit, even though it’s not the same as sleep.” People who can linger in bed without work or family pressure, or who need the extra time for health reasons, should do so without shame, experts said.

That even goes for bed rotting, another TikTok trend with a less appealing name. Bed rotting — when you lounge in bed all day or even all weekend — can still be harmless in moderation. “If you want to stay in bed for the day because you are feeling burnout, do it, and don’t feel bad about it,” Dr. McGlinchey said.

“But if it starts to make you feel depressed or anxious or leads you to call out of work and become less functional, then you need to pull back.” For some people, consistently staying in bed for hours, or going back to sleep, can be a sign of depression. You also need light exposure to maintain your circadian rhythms .

Generally speaking, though, lounging in bed can be time well-spent. Keep it short if you can and do something you enjoy. For healthy sleepers, Dr. Rodriguez said, “enjoying your bed is a good thing.”

Tips for Better Sleep

Tired of tossing and turning there are some strategies you could try to maximize your hours in bed..

Four out of five people say that they suffer from sleep problems at least once a week and wake up feeling exhausted. Use our guide for a better night’s sleep .

Poor sleep can make anxiety, depression and other mental health issues worse. Here’s what to do about it .

Sleep deprivation doesn’t just feel terrible —  it can also hamper your ability to form and recall memories .

The “sleepy girl mocktail” has gone viral on TikTok, where wellness influencers are touting it as a must-have to help you sleep. But is it effective ?

Do sleeping pills work? We asked experts about the different types of medications for treating insomnia .

Sharing a bed with a restless partner doesn’t have to be torture. Try these tips .

Turn Your Bedroom Into a Sleep Sanctuary With Wirecutter’s Recommendations

Good rest starts with a great mattress. These tips can help you pick the right one  for you out of the countless options available .

Next, you’ll need a good pillow. These customizable models  offer the comfort you need — whether you sleep on your stomach, side or back.

Looking for a more luxe experience? The right sheets can make a big difference. Here is a selection to choose from .

White noise machines have the power to mask yapping dogs, clanky radiators and late-night parties. Consider buying one .

IMAGES

  1. Why Can’t I Do My Homework? (10 Possible Reasons)

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  2. Why Homework Is Bad

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  3. Homework vs. Sleep: A Major Cause of Stress in Teens

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  4. Why Homework Is Bad For Students

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  5. Teenager Cries while Solving a Difficult School Homework in a Room on a

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  6. What happens when you work from bed for a year

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VIDEO

  1. The happiest days during the holidays when I was a child: I didn’t have to do homework or go to bed

  2. Bad homework

  3. Why do homework when I can edit? [HUA CHENG EDIT]

  4. Bad Babysitter: Homework 😂Why would you say 10 🤷🏻‍♀️ #comedyshorts #shorts

COMMENTS

  1. What happens when you work from bed for a year

    The allure of working from bed is strong - but turning your mattress into your office can trigger a slew of health problems, both psychological and physical. For many people, working from home,...

  2. What to Know About Working From Your Bed

    Poor sleep & productivity Mixing work with your bed is a little bit like merging church and state. The bedroom should be a relaxing environment that promotes sleep. If you start working from bed on a regular basis, your brain can start to associate your bed with work.

  3. The Science Behind Why We Should Never Work From Bed

    1. The Bedroom Isn't As Relaxing There is something about having separate spaces in your home. It's nice to eat in a place where you don't relax and sleep in an area that you don't work. These mental associations can be complicated to maintain, though. At one point I was living and working from a bachelor apartment.

  4. Don't Let Studying in Bed Sabotage Your Sleep

    Ergonomics Although laying in bed is the ultimate in comfort, sitting in bed isn't always as comfortable. Sitting in an uncomfortable position applies pressure to your back, which can lead to spine problems over time. It's a sneaky disadvantage to studying in bed, but it's important to consider for the long-term.

  5. 6 Reasons Working from Bed Isn't a Good Idea

    Getty Images I'll be honest. Up until a few months ago, I spent almost every day working from my bed. Right before COVID-19 and the resulting quarantine, I made a massive shift in my mind to...

  6. Never Do Homework In Bed: 3 Reasons Why

    1. Studying in bed limits focus. Think about all the reasons why you love your bed. The comfort of warm covers, soft pillows, and putting off responsibility by pressing "Snooze" are highly persuasive on their own, but even more so when compared to focusing on your homework.

  7. Is It Healthy to Study in Bed?

    Lots of studying, writing and reading happens while lying or lounging in bed. Though many parents insist children study only at a desk, they may be surprised to hear what experts think about where ...

  8. How to Hack Working In Bed To Be Good For Your Body

    4. Get up and move around. It's never a good idea to stay seated for hours on end, and if you're working from your bed it's extra important to get up and move around every 30 minutes. Aside ...

  9. The Health Effects of Working From Bed

    Another theory is that it alters levels of certain hormones in your blood, such as insulin, which in turn can raise your risk of disease. 2. Your Sleep May Suffer. "Our minds associate places with activities, so if you work in bed, it's likely to interfere with your sleep sooner or later," says Greene.

  10. Why you shouldn't work from bed (and a guide to doing it anyway)

    Think about your working environment. The danger with working from bed - apart from potential long-term back pain and accidentally falling asleep - is you can become too relaxed and start to ...

  11. Teens, Sleep and Homework Survey Results

    Students who go to bed earlier and awaken earlier perform better academically than those who stay up late - even to do homework. About the BSC The Better Sleep Council is the consumer-education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, the trade association for the mattress industry.

  12. Don't Study in Bed

    Some of the reasons why studying or getting work done in bed could be disadvantageous for college students include: focus limitation, decreased productivity and sleep issues, according to Brian Robben's article " Never Do Homework In Bed: 3 Reasons Why, " published Oct. 1, 2016 by American College of Healthcare Sciences.

  13. Don't want to go to bed? Dealing with bedtime procrastination

    Why does it matter? Routinely getting less sleep than you need, or not getting sufficient good-quality sleep, is associated with many poor health outcomes, including cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure and heart problems, cognitive issues, and depression.

  14. Why You Shouldn't Do Work In Your Bedroom

    Impacts Sleep Working from the bedroom can cause some people to associate their surroundings with work rather than sleep, which can make it difficult to relax at bedtime. Limits Productivity Working in the bedroom can also make people less productive because they are surrounded by their place of leisure.

  15. Homework Struggles May Not Be a Behavior Problem

    Key points Mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental differences directly affect children's ability to do homework. Understanding what difficulties are getting in the way—beyond the usual...

  16. Ergonomic Tips for Working in a Bed

    Working in bed doesn't have to be a nocturnal activity. Some people work in bed in the mornings and feel best at that time. Although this can make you stay there till noon, which is not healthy. Get out of the bed every 30 to 45 minutes to stretch your legs and refresh as blood circulation improves. You will find that you return better, and ...

  17. Why You Need to Stop Doing Your Work in Bed

    There are a number of reasons for this. One prime reason is simply that we live in an increasingly "flat earth" world where business is a 24 hour a day proposition. In such a world it is sometimes ...

  18. Why Homework is Bad: Stress and Consequences

    Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor. The researchers asked students whether they experienced physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep ...

  19. The Art of Doing Homework in Bed

    Moral of the story: start doing your homework in bed! Tips for Doing Homework In Bed: Invest in a good bedrest pillow so you have the proper back support. My life was significantly changed for the better after getting on of these. You can find these basically anywhere, in any color, and for pretty cheap. Target has great plush ones for under $20.

  20. I study in bed and its OK : r/GetStudying

    Yes. I'm a college counselor and I regularly give this advice. Due dates don't go away cause I'm sick. 47 zerefdxz • 2 yr. ago Yeah. Apps like anki has been a great help for me who suffers from a disease in the backs 17 No_Brocc0li • 2 yr. ago Me too. I just can't study while sitting.

  21. So studying in your bedroom is a bad idea? : r/GetStudying

    So studying in your bedroom is a bad idea? My psychology professor tells me students should study away from their bedroom because of how it should only be associated to relaxation such as sleep, computer time, television, etc and people generally get distracted when they study here.

  22. Should I Do My Homework or Sleep?

    Lack of sleep can affect your cognitive function, leading to a lack of focus and concentration. Prepare your body and refresh your memory by sleeping within the right number of hours. You can also take power naps or short breaks in the middle of a busy day before doing your homework. What Time of the Day Is Your Brain Sharpest?

  23. Here's why homework is bad according to research

    One reason why homework is bad is that it can have a negative impact on students' mental health. Excessive homework has been linked to increased stress, anxiety, and even depression, particularly ...

  24. The 'Homework Gap' Is About to Get Worse. What Should Schools Do?

    Sometimes, a school-issued device is the only one available to use at home, so parents also use it to look for jobs, do online coursework, or attend telehealth appointments, Manahan said. "It ...

  25. How Long Is Too Long to Stay in Bed?

    Lounging in bed is not a substitute for sleep. "But you should listen to your body," she said. "If you feel better after resting a bit, you may be getting some benefit, even though it's ...

  26. Why is it easier for me to do work in bed rather than sitting ...

    I've spent the last few years trying to condition myself to do my homework sitting down at a desk or at the library, but I'm never really productive. I feel uncomfortable a lot of the time and wish I could be laying in bed watching YouTube or playing video games. However, when I lay down in bed with my laptop and worksheets, it's very ...

  27. Al Green leaves hospital to cast vote against Alejandro Mayorkas ...

    A Democratic lawmaker from Texas left the hospital briefly to cast a crucial vote against the impeachment of the homeland security secretary. Al Green surprised House members when he entered the ...