Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

Another day, another micro trend giving us a term for something we do in our regular life. This time around, it’s ‘Hurkle-Durkle’, a Scottish morning ritual that has emerged as a viral wellness trend on the Internet.

The old colloquial Scottish term has entered the vocabulary of the terminally online and has already garnered hundreds and thousands of impressions across social media platforms. Just like the Snail Girl Era and Cosy Cardio trends, this one is all about Gen-Z’s quest to vanquish the hustle culture…

What is the ‘Hurkle-Durkle’ trend?

Hurkle-Durkle is not actually a new trend or wellness practice. The morning ritual has been around for ages in Scotland and you might have been practicing it without knowing that it has a whimsical name all this while. In the Scottish language, the term means “to lie in bed or lounge about when one should be up and about”. The trend is all about having a slow morning where you lounge about in bed for a little extra time before getting up to start the day.

While the term has been around for ages, it was recently popularised by Tik-Tok user Kira Kosarin who shared a video introducing the term to the masses.

Is ‘Hurkle-Durkle’ different from ‘bed rotting’?

‘Bed rotting’ was a micro trend that had become popular late last year. It was characterised by people spending an entire day, or even a full weekend, in bed doing nothing productive. Hurkle-Durkle is different from bed rotting in many ways. For starters, and most importantly, you can only Hurkle-Durkle in the morning. It’s all about having an indulgent morning of lounging around in bed, not for a full day, but just to give yourself a languid start to the day.

Is ‘Hurkle-Durkle’ good for you?

Unlike ‘bed rotting’, which led many mental health experts to raise questions about it being a symptom of declining mental health, ‘Hurkle-Durkle’ allows you to prioritise rest and have a slower start to the day. It helps your brain catch-up and get ready to start the day at your own pace.

How to ‘Hurkle-Durkle’ the right way?

If you are prone to hitting snooze on your alarm clock more than once every morning, you’re already a part of the trend. The key is to have a relaxed lie-in and do something that relaxes you, like catching up on some extra zzzs, having a conversation about your day with your partner, or snuggling with your pet.

While there are no rules to Hurkle-Durkle, doing something that actively stimulates your brain immediately after waking up, like doomscrolling on your phone or checking your emails, is not advised.