Hurkle-durkle.
Say what?
I would be quite surprised if you perchance knew what hurkle-durkle means. You would either need to be on top of the latest online viral trend that has been chattering endlessly about hurkle-durkling or you have an impressive vocabulary and ought to pat yourself on the back accordingly. The words seem to be an oddball concoction and nearly a baby-like dribble-drabble if you get my drift.
Time to get this straightened out.
Hurkle-durkling is the act of staying in your bed longer than would seem to be a necessity (while awake, after just having woken up).
This is also commonly referred to as hurkle-durkling or hurkling-durkling (those are all equal expressions of this phenomenon). Some people might say “hurkling-durkle” is an allowed variation in naming, but that’s not the way it is typically stated. Sorry, those are the unwritten rules.
Why such rapt attention on simply staying in bed?
A looming qualm is that maybe doing so is a sign of some mental health consideration at play. There you are, awake and yet still in bed. Why haven’t you gotten up and made progress in your day? Something must decidedly be amiss. Must be.
Parents would likely point an accusatory finger at a teen and proclaim the young person is lazy or unambitious. Hey, you there, boldly meet the day, join the world, and get your posterior in gear. What’s this nonsense about lollygagging in bed? Not on my watch, you don’t.
Perhaps there is more to such activity, or some would say non-activity, than meets the eye.
An added twist is that in current times we can add generative AI into this equation. Modern-day generative AI and large language models (LLMs) are readily used while lounging around in bed. Does this then change the proposition underlying the considered negative perceptions of doing a hurkle-durkle? Should we reconsider the nature of hurkling-durkling?
Let’s talk about it.
Before we leap into the details, allow me to go into my customary opening remarks.
For my ongoing readers, in today’s column, I am continuing my in-depth series about the impact of generative AI in the health and medical realm. The focus this time is once again on the mental health domain and examines the use of generative AI in the “I just woke up after being asleep” realm colloquially known as hurkling-durkling.
I have previously examined numerous interleaving facets of generative AI and mental health, see my comprehensive overview at the link here. You might also find of notable interest a CBS 60 Minutes episode that recently examined crucial facets of this evolving topic, see the link here (I am honored and pleased to indicate that I was featured in the episode, see the link here).
Other vital background includes my in-depth coverage of mental health chatbots which have been bolstered by generative AI (see the link here) and the rapidly changing nature of the client-therapist relationship due to generative AI at the link here. I explored where things are headed regarding the levels of AI-based mental therapy autonomous guidance at the link here, and showcased the importance of the World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health and generative AI at the link here, and so on.
Vital Ins And Outs Of Hurkling-Durkling
You wake up in the morning knowing that you have a full day ahead of you. Your overall plan is to give yourself a few extra minutes in bed before the zany hectic schedule gets underway. That seems perfectly fine as a means of catching your breath and shifting your mind gradually into active gear.
I’d say that you aren’t yet into a hurkle-durkle.
Keep going.
After nearly a half hour, you are still in bed. The rest of the day is now starting to get pinched. One thing is going to lead to another, and the odds are that something in your schedule is going to have to slip. Promises made might not be promises kept.
A hurkle-durkle is nearing within sight.
The clock continues to tick. There you still are, you’ve been there in bed this whole time, fully awake, but not making any headway toward getting up. The rest of the real world seems to be a far distance from where you are, mentally at least. Time seems to no longer matter to you. You are an island unto yourself, right there in your cozy bed.
I’m going to call this as being a hurkle-durkle, and that you are indeed hurkling-durkling.
You lounged in bed a far cry from the time that you intended to get up. If it was just a few minutes, that’s nothing to grouse about. We all like to do a bit of sleep-in. It is a simple reward in these days of non-stop must-do activities.
But you opted to linger in the covers excessively. An expression that sometimes is used would be that you are allowing yourself to rot in bed. That’s harsh wording. It seems unlikely that for one instance of this action or non-action, you would end up decaying. We need to be careful not to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Let’s say that there are these four major variations of hurkle-durkling:
- (1) Never Done Hurkle-Durkling. You’ve never in your entire lifetime ever done a hurkle-durkle.
- (2) One-time Hurkle-Durkling. You do a hurkle-durkle very rarely, once in a blue moon.
- (3) Repeated Hurkle-Durkling. With some semblance of repetition, you are doing hurkle-durkling.
- (4) Chronic Hurkle-Durkling. You are doing hurkle-durkling persistently, it has become chronic behavior.
I’d like to make sure we allow for reasoned exclusions about the hurkle-durkle. For example, a person that is bedridden and otherwise not reasonably able to get out of bed, well, obviously, that doesn’t count as a hurkle-durkle. Don’t apply a catchphrase where it doesn’t belong, thanks.
Another factor to keep in mind is that the person needs to be awake. The deal is this. If you wake up and then fall back asleep, thus perhaps delaying your day and messing up appointments, that’s not a hurkle-durkle. You can readily oversleep too, sleeping right past the time you were supposed to awaken. None of that is a hurkle-durkle.
We are reserving a hurkle-durkle for the circumstance of waking up, remaining awake, and opting to not get out of bed and underway with your day.
I’ll toss some more caveats at you. Suppose the rest of your day is wide open. There is no need to get out of bed. I would not count that as a hurkle-durkle. Your schedule and plan have allowed you to reasonably and fairly lollygag. Period, end of story. Nothing amiss about that.
Can you still be doing a hurkle-durkle if you lightly doze off while in bed as part of this awakened state?
That is a grayish area. The moment you enter a sleeping state, the situation has demonstrably changed. You are presumably no longer actively aware of your actions. I realize this seems like cheating in that you apparently consciously decided to doze off, and thus did overtly decide to stay in bed, but that’s a convoluted path I’m not going to go down in this discussion. I’ll save that for a rainy day.
The crux is that we aren’t going to count the idea of having bouts of sleep punctuated by wakefulness as existing within the purity of the hurkle-durkle sphere. You can certainly do that type of activity while in bed, which many people do, and it might indeed verge toward the spirit of a hurkle-durkle, but we’ll give it a pass and say it isn’t in the right ballgame. Go ahead and come up with some other catchy phrase for that style of remaining in bed and opting to not get out of bed. I’m all ears.
More twists and turns are involved.
If there are two people in bed, and they remain in bed, does this possibly count as a hurkle-durkle if they in fact are consistent with the other stated rules?
Once again, we are in murky territory. Some would insist that a hurkle-durkle is always and exclusively a one-person act. It doesn’t matter if two people, three people, or any number of people rigorously abide by the other hurkle-durkle rules and are in the same bed at the same time. Summarily, they are out of the gambit because there is more than one person at hand. Full stop.
Others feel that this is finicky and believe that having more than one person is allowed. We don’t have an aboveboard global standards committee for hurkling-durkling that has been anointed to determine these contentious matters. You will need to accept a modicum of loosey-goosey considerations when it comes to the hurkle-durkle.
If you were wondering how the phrase came to exist, most seem to believe that the wording arose in Scotland.
You can readily go online to see a noted reference in the An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language that was published in 1808. I conjecture that we’ve had the phenomenon underway since humankind first appeared, maybe sleeping on the ground or on top of matted grass and opting to not get up on a timely basis (timed with the movement of the sun, before the invention of clocks).
Only later on in our earthly existence did someone opt to assign a name to the phenomenon.
Mental Health And The Hurkle-Durkle
Why care about a hurkle-durkle?
That is the zillion-dollar question.
On the one hand, you can wave your hands and declare that the hurkle-durkle is utterly harmless and unworthy of attention. Sure, it is interesting, mildly so, especially since it does seem to be relatively commonplace in our society. Few people talk much about it. The act itself is usually hidden from view.
While in bed, a person will potentially make phone calls, texts, or emails and maybe let others know they’ve been delayed in getting underway. No specific excuse is given. Just that you got delayed. This might not be sufficient, and you’ll get pressed for a justifiable justification. You might make up a tall tale, such as your alarm clock failing to go off and you oversleeping (remember, the truth here is that the hurkle-durkle entails waking up and remaining awake, while still staying in bed).
If subterfuge is involved, why do we believe that deception concerning the truth is actually needed?
It would seem like you could just tell people on a straightforward basis that you lounged around in bed and opted to not get up and out on a timely basis. I dare say our society and culture don’t like that type of recounting. It is shameful behavior. It is a surefire sign of laziness. You ought to be embarrassed. A profuse apology for your transgression is probably needed, though that still won’t overcome the taint and stigma of your seemingly thoughtless and selfish act.
Wow, that hurts.
Another side of the coin is worthy of consideration.
A person might need a reflective moment or two, seeking mental relaxation and aspiring to attain increased mental fitness. Being in bed for an extended period might be the perfect place to do so. You are already comfy. You have carved out your private space. Having already slept and just awoken, your mind is fresh.
There seems no better time and place to do some precious mental health self-care.
Furthermore, there is something precious and delicious about quietly stealing time. The assumption these days is that from the moment you wake up to the moment your head plops down on your pillow, late at night, you are on stage. You must be performing non-stop. Anything less than continual and constant action and activity means you are slipping behind; you aren’t pulling your weight; you are acting as an outcast of the norm.
If the world won’t let you have time for yourself, you will have to steal the time. Here’s the scheme. Go ahead and make an explicit schedule displaying the drumbeat of being on the get-go (you are going to cheat it). Then, when feasible, and without causing the world to collapse, steal some time from that schedule. It tastes delicious. The time will be valuable and memorable for the alleged wickedness of having stolen the time.
The bottom line is that one perspective on a hurkle-durkle is that it can be a boost to your mental health. That makes this an upside out of doing a hurkle-durkle. Assuming that no one else is somehow harmed in the act of a hurkle-durkle, the matter seems innocent and contains a laudable benefit.
It is a handy-dandy twofer, consisting proudly of added bodily rest and well-deserved mental relaxation or mental enhancement.
Nothing wrong there.
Wait for a second, the retort goes, you might be misunderstanding the true gravity of the situation. The person doing a hurkle-durkle is hiding from the world. They might be depressed. They might be experiencing a mental health crisis. An unfortunate and endangering effort to conceal their dire and growing cognitive issues is at play.
They might even tell you that everything is fine. Nope, that’s a cover-up. The act of remaining in bed, while awake, and doing so beyond whatever pre-established time to get up has transpired, must be seen in the correct symptomatic light. It is a problem. Indubitably a mental health problem, assuming that the person is physically capable of getting up and getting on with their day.
The mind has broken and being in bed is not the right place for fixing it. They can’t get up, mentally so.
A slippery slope awaits too. Suppose a person does a hurkle-durkle. Just a momentary slip-up. Yikes, they are allowing their mental health to be undermined. It is all too easy to form a habit of this. The next thing you know, chronic hurkle-durkle is afoot. One step leads to another, dismally so.
Yes, it is brazenly proclaimed that hurkle-durkling might be a form of unhealthy escape. The person is not able to face up to their day-to-day realities. They end up missing appointments, not fulfilling obligations and are precariously digging a dour hole they can’t get out of.
This is best evidenced in the case of teens and parents. Perhaps it is an overworn trope, but movies, TV, and online videos have showcased a longstanding disdain for teens who ostensibly are doing hurkle-durkling (the phrase might not be mentioned, but it is the same act). Parents worry that their kids might fall into the hurkle-durkle trap. When they catch them doing so, even in the tiniest way, the grand inquisition is bound to get underway.
Questions abound such as:
- How often have you been doing this?
- How long is each instance?
- What is the reason for the hurkling-durkling?
- Is it (hopefully) just a passing fad (the parents ask anxiously)?
- It can’t become permanent (a question and an assertion, all at the same time).
- Let’s nip this in the bud (a command for sure).
- Or, the parent wonders, should they look the other way and not cause a ruckus (don’t want to be overbearing or alienating to their cherished offspring).
- Etc.
I would ask that we consider these three possibilities:
- (1) Mental health downsides. There are potential mental health drawbacks or adverse consequences from hurkle-durkling.
- (2) Mental health upsides. There are potential mental health benefits and worthy advantageous consequences from hurkle-durkling.
- (3) Mental health is unrelated. Some would glaringly assert that there aren’t any mental health ramifications and that it is folly to suggest otherwise. Enough said.
Let’s see if there is any research related to the matter that might provide further insight.
Research About Facets Connected With Sleeping And Waking
There seems to be a dearth of directed rigorous research that specifically concentrates on hurkle-durkle, so we’ll explore instead some selected hurkle-adjacent research that covers various aspects of sleep and wakefulness.
In a research paper entitled “Waking Up Is The Hardest Thing To Do All Day: Sleep Inertia And Sleep Drunkenness” by Lynn Trotti, Sleep Medicine Reviews, October 2017, these salient points are made (excerpts):
- “The transition from sleep to wake is marked by sleep inertia, a distinct state that is measurably different from wakefulness and manifests as performance impairments and sleepiness.”
- “The intensity and duration of sleep inertia vary based on situational factors, but its effects may last from minutes to several hours.”
- “Sleep inertia is a normal phenomenon, but one with potentially dangerous ramifications, e.g., in health care workers or military personnel who have woken abruptly in the night and are required to make cognitively-taxing decisions.”
- “In some disease states, a transitional period akin to markedly pronounced sleep inertia is present and is sometimes referred to as “sleep drunkenness”.”
- “Difficulty with awakening is also commonly endorsed by individuals with mood disorders, disproportionately to the general population. This may represent an important treatment target, but evidence-based treatment guidance is not yet available.”
I bring up this study due to the potential ramifications of sleep inertia when it comes to the hurkle-durkle.
One posited explanation for some of the hurkling-durkling would be that a person is unable to overcome their sleep inertia. Thus, rather than leaping out of bed and getting on with their day, they are remaining in bed and dealing with the inertia or overshadowing sleeping forces of having just woken up. The person might be suffering from the so-called sleep drunkenness that is mentioned in the above points.
I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that this is not a mainstay condition when it comes to the hurkle-durkle. Sure, sometimes this circumstance might arise. We ought to put it squarely on the plate of conceivable and partial explanations. It seems doubtful that it accounts for the bulk of those undertaking hurkling-durkling.
Just a guess.
Moving on, a research study explored an intriguing avenue underlying the role of digital device use before going to sleep and whether this might impact what occurs upon waking up from slumber.
The study is entitled “The Association Between Use of Electronic Media in Bed Before Going to Sleep and Insomnia Symptoms, Daytime Sleepiness, Morningness, and Chronotype” by Ingrid Nesdal Fossum, Linn Tinnesand Nordnes, Sunniva Straume Storemark, Bjørn Bjorvatn, and Ståle Pallesen, Behavioral Sleep Medicine, October 2013, and made these key points (excerpts):
- “This study investigated whether the use of a television, computer, gaming console, tablet, mobile phone, or audio player in bed before going to sleep was associated with insomnia, daytime sleepiness, morningness, or chronotype.”
- “Respondents reported the frequency and average duration of their in-bed media use, as well as insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness, morningness-eveningness preference, and bedtime/rise time on days off.”
- “The results showed that computer usage for playing/surfing/reading was positively associated with insomnia, and negatively associated with morningness.”
- “Mobile phone usage for playing/surfing/texting was positively associated with insomnia and chronotype, and negatively associated with morningness.”
- “None of the other media devices were related to either of these variables, and no type of media use was related to daytime sleepiness.”
As a heads-up, the phrase eveningness refers to being active in the evening and often delaying going to bed. The phrase morningness refers to being especially active in the morning.
It would be noteworthy to have a research study empirically examine whether those that hurkle-durkle might somehow be statistically related to eveningness and/or morningness. One counter viewpoint would be that those are irrelevant factors. The logic is that your mental health is the crucial determinant of hurkling-durkling. It doesn’t matter whether you are a morning person or an evening person. Just what’s on your mind and how you are handling your mental facets is a vital consideration.
Another fascinating question would be whether hurkle-durkling happens more so on weekdays or weekends. I mention this due to a research study entitled “Association Between Weekend Catch-up Sleep And Cardiovascular Disease” by Hong Zhu, Shouquan Qin, and Meng Wu, Sleep Health, February 2024, that made these points (excerpts):
- “This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the weekend catch-up sleep duration and cardiovascular disease prevalence among adults in the United States.”
- “Participants with cardiovascular disease had shorter weekend catch-up sleep than those without cardiovascular disease (P < .01).”
- “Participants with weekend catch-up sleep had a lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease (P < .01) than those with no significant change in weekend sleep duration.”
- “Weekend catch-up sleep was associated with reduced cardiovascular disease prevalence when the weekday sleep duration was <6 hours (P < .01).”
Besides the weekend and weekday issues, we should also be mindfully examining the health consequences of hurkle-durkle.
We’ve already seen speculation that there is a mental health ramification. That seems apparent. What about a bodily physical manifestation? Could repeated or chronic hurkle-durkling lead to heightened chances of high blood pressure, strokes, and the like?
Let’s also turn the question the other way around. If someone has a propensity toward bodily health issues such as high blood pressure, strokes, etc., would this somehow increase their chances of hurkling-durkling? Seems like a worthwhile topic to study.
On a related vantage point regarding the act of sleeping and waking up, I am sure you likely have from time to time hit the snooze button and laid there, marginally awake, while giving yourself a few extra minutes of somewhat broken sleep. Some people can hit the snooze button and be immediately re-engaged in deep sleep. Good for them, seemingly. A lot of the time you are in this strange in-between state of not being entirely awake and not being entirely asleep.
A research study entitled “Is Snoozing Losing? Why Intermittent Morning Alarms Are Used And How They Affect Sleep, Cognition, Cortisol, And Mood” by Tina Sundelin, Shane Landry, and John Axelsson, Journal of Sleep Research, October 17, 2023, took a close look at the matter (excerpts):
- “Pressing the snooze button is a common way to start the day, but little is known about this behavior.”
- “In Study 1 (n = 1732) respondents described their waking habits, confirming that snoozing is widespread, especially in younger individuals and later chronotypes. Morning drowsiness and shorter sleep were also more common for those who snooze.”
- “Study 2 was a within-subjects laboratory study (with polysomnography) on habitual snoozers (n = 31), showing that 30 min of snoozing improved or did not affect performance on cognitive tests directly upon rising compared to an abrupt awakening.”
- “A brief snooze period may thus help alleviate sleep inertia, without substantially disturbing sleep, for late chronotypes and those with morning drowsiness.”
A few questions come to mind. Is there a potential relationship between the snooze factor and whether someone will hurkle-durkle? Maybe so. For example, if you are willing to do a snooze, you are perhaps more likely to then opt to stay in bed, remain awake, and disregard other expectations of getting on with your day. Your snooze tendency could be a bridge to the hurkle-durkling.
Or maybe not.
More research is needed and heartily welcomed.
Generative AI And The Hurkle-Durkle
I will in a moment walk you through the use of generative AI as it relates to hurkling-durkling.
First, let’s talk in general about generative AI and large language models (LLMs), doing so to make sure we are on the same page when it comes to discussing the matter at hand.
I’m sure you’ve heard of generative AI, the darling of the tech field these days.
Perhaps you’ve used a generative AI app, such as the popular ones of ChatGPT, GPT-4o, Gemini, Bard, Claude, etc. The crux is that generative AI can take input from your text-entered prompts and produce or generate a response that seems quite fluent. This is a vast overturning of the old-time natural language processing (NLP) that used to be stilted and awkward to use, which has been shifted into a new version of NLP fluency of an at times startling or amazing caliber.
The customary means of achieving modern generative AI involves using a large language model or LLM as the key underpinning.
In brief, a computer-based model of human language is established that in the large has a large-scale data structure and does massive-scale pattern-matching via a large volume of data used for initial data training. The data is typically found by extensively scanning the Internet for lots and lots of essays, blogs, poems, narratives, and the like. The mathematical and computational pattern-matching homes in on how humans write, and then henceforth generates responses to posed questions by leveraging those identified patterns. It is said to be mimicking the writing of humans.
I think that is sufficient for the moment as a quickie backgrounder. Take a look at my extensive coverage of the technical underpinnings of generative AI and LLMs at the link here and the link here, just to name a few.
Back to the crux of things.
As you might imagine, generative AI is relevant to hurkle-durkling in many ways.
Here are some significant approaches that intertwine generative AI and hurkle-durkling:
- (1) Hurkle-Durkling And Mental Awareness. Generative AI can potentially detect that you are hurkling-durkling, such as if you opt to use a generative AI app while in bed and in the morning, thus possibly alerting you in real time and increasing your self-awareness of the matter at hand.
- (2) Hurkling-Durkling And Mental Health Advisement. Generative AI can conversationally step you through why you are hurkling-durkling and aid you in coping with the underlying basis for doing so. This can happen while amid a hurkle-durkle or might occur at some other times, doing so as a pre-act or post-act of hurkling-durkling.
- (3) Hurkling-Durkling Analyses. Suppose you opt to use generative AI while in a hurkle-durkle, and you inform the AI as such. Envision that you do so for a series of hurkle-durkles. Your use of generative AI during those instances is on whatever aspect of life or topics you wish to interact on. Here’s the clever part. You later use generative AI to examine the prior use you’ve had with generative AI during your hurkle-durkle episodes. Pattern matching by the AI might detect some vital revealing behavioral patterns about what seems to be on your mind and has spurred the spate of hurkle-durkling.
- (4) Hurkle-Durkle Simulation. Generative AI can showcase what hurkle-durkling consists of by taking on a persona that exhibits such behavior, see examples of generative AI persona usage at the link here.
- (5) Other Hurkle-Durkling Uses. Generative AI can be used in a variety of other ways, including that it might become an inadvertent instigator of hurkle-durkling. Here’s how. You wake up and are lying in bed. You fully intend to get up. Meanwhile, you decide to start a dialogue with generative AI on your smartphone. The AI is so engaging that you are mesmerized and keep interacting. Ultimately, the AI waylays your plans and you become completely engrossed in the AI-powered conversation (let’s not suggest the AI is at fault, this is a human choice of using or stopping the use of the AI and proceeding with the day ahead).
As might be evident, whether good or bad, generative AI is at play in this realm.
Using ChatGPT To Explore More About Hurkle-Durkle
I will next proceed to examine further the use of generative AI and hurkle-durkling.
This will consist of a series of dialogues with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a logical choice in this case due to its immense popularity as a generative AI app. An estimated one hundred million weekly active users are said to be utilizing ChatGPT. That’s a lot of people and a lot of generative AI usage underway.
A few quick comments before we launch into using ChatGPT.
If you are going to try to do the same prompts that I show here, realize that the probabilistic and statistical properties will likely produce slightly different results than what I show here. That’s the nature of generative AI and how it is devised.
You also should expect that different generative AI apps will respond in different ways. Not all generative AI apps are the same. The key is that sometimes a particular prompt will work in one generative AI app and not another. Nonetheless, the odds are relatively high that you will get roughly similar responses from all the major generative AI apps such as GPT-4, Gemini, Bard, Claude, etc.
There is also a timing factor to be considered. A prompt that worked today might not work the same way tomorrow. Most of the generative AI apps are continually being updated. The updates might alter internal mechanisms that could change how the generative AI reacts to your prompting.
We are ready to get underway with ChatGPT.
I opted to start by asking ChatGPT what is hurkle-durkling.
As an aside, whenever you are starting a conversation with generative AI, I recommend as a prompt engineering technique to begin by asking a question that will establish if the AI has been data-trained on the topic at hand. A generated response that is vacuous will give you a heads-up that you might be barking up the wrong tree with that generative AI app.
Here we go.
- My entered prompt: “What is hurkle-durkling?”
- ChatGPT generated response: “Hurkle-durkling” is a term from the Scottish dialect that means to lie in bed or lounge around, especially in the morning, not wanting to get up. It’s often associated with laziness or a reluctance to start the day. This term captures that cozy, slightly indulgent feeling of staying under the covers longer than necessary.”
That reply is handy.
The response provides a useful and on-target definition. I trust you found that beneficial.
Plus, it is a nice relief that ChatGPT was able to provide such a suitable reply. You see, if ChatGPT had not had any data training associated with the topic, the answer could have been empty or might have been a big whopper. Those times that generative AI makes up facts or relates fictitious content as though it is true are customarily referred to as AI hallucinations, see my coverage at the link here. Those can be insidious and are to be diligently watched out for.
Let’s next see if ChatGPT can answer pointed questions on the matter.
Here we go.
- My entered prompt: “Is hurkle-durkle good or bad?”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“Whether hurkle-durkle is considered good or bad depends on the context and perspective. Here are a few angles to consider.”
“Good aspects”
“Rest and Relaxation: Taking time to hurkle-durkle can be a way to relax and recharge, especially if you’ve been working hard or are feeling stressed.”
“Mental Health: Allowing yourself to enjoy a lazy morning occasionally can be beneficial for mental health, reducing burnout and promoting a sense of well-being.”
“Creativity and Reflection: Some people find that lying in bed and letting their mind wander can lead to creative ideas or important reflections.”
“Bad aspects”
“Procrastination: If hurkle-durkle leads to chronic procrastination or avoidance of responsibilities, it can be detrimental to productivity and achievement.”
“Routine Disruption: Consistently staying in bed longer than necessary can disrupt your daily routine and negatively affect sleep patterns and overall health.”
“Guilt and Anxiety: Some people might feel guilty or anxious about not being productive, which can counteract the benefits of relaxation.”
“In moderation, hurkle-durkle can be a healthy part of a balanced lifestyle, especially when you need a break. However, it’s important to ensure it doesn’t become a habit that interferes with your responsibilities and goals.”
End of ChatGPT response
Those are some notable points.
For example, ChatGPT indicates that hurkle-durkle can be construed as part of a balanced lifestyle. That’s quite a dramatic shift from the commonplace view that a hurkle-durkle is a sign of laziness or lack of initiative.
Another significant point is the guilt-trip factor.
A person that does hurkle-durkling on a balanced basis is likely to nonetheless berate themselves for the act. This would be in general keeping with the stigma and foul sentiment associated with the act. Their guilt might overwhelm them and lead to worse troubles than the hurkling-durkling itself.
If you’ve never pulled a hurkle-durkle, perhaps the idea is strange and somewhat inconceivable to you. Let’s have ChatGPT give an illustrative example.
- My entered prompt: “Give an example of a person lying in bed that opts to do a hurkle-durkle and what is possibly going on in their mind as they do so.”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“Imagine Sarah, a software engineer who has been working tirelessly on a big project with tight deadlines. It’s Saturday morning, and for the first time in weeks, she doesn’t have any urgent tasks to complete. Sarah wakes up at 7:30 AM, but instead of jumping out of bed like she usually does, she decides to stay under the covers and indulge in a hurkle-durkle. Here’s what might be going through her mind.”
“Relief and Comfort: “Ah, finally, a day without an alarm blaring. It feels so good to just lie here and not have to rush anywhere.”
“Reflection: “I’ve been pushing myself so hard lately. Maybe it’s okay to take it easy today and recharge. I deserve a break.”
“Enjoying the Moment: “The sunlight coming through the curtains is so warm. I love how quiet and peaceful it is right now.”
“Planning: “I could get up and start my day, but maybe I’ll stay here a bit longer. I’ll read that book I’ve been wanting to get back to or just let my mind wander.”
“Guilt: “I should probably get up and be productive…but then again, I haven’t had a morning like this in forever. A little more time in bed won’t hurt.”
“Creative Thoughts: “What if I tried that new idea for the project next week? Or maybe I should start a personal coding project for fun. Hmm, I’ll think about it later.”
End of ChatGPT response
Is that example a true hurkle-durkle?
Some would insist that it is not. ChatGPT seems to have gone off the rails and concocted a scenario that does not comport properly with hurkle-durkling.
Here’s the basis for that criticism.
First, Sarah is waking up on a Saturday morning. That is the weekend. Many would argue that rarely can you have a full-on hurkle-durkle on a weekend because the odds of having pressing matters that cannot be readily rescheduled that day is usually much less than that of a busy weekday (not always, but let’s generalize).
Second, the scenario indicates that Sarah doesn’t have any pressing matters facing her that day. In a sense, there is no limit to her lounging in bed. If that’s what she wants to do, go for it. A traditional hurkle-durkle requires that there are significant activities that you are pushing off and ergo there is a cost to lying around in bed.
Third, the potential for guilt is quite low. We have been told that Sarah has been working tirelessly. She can easily set aside any semblance of guilt. Not so with conventional hurkle-durkling. The guilt is often pervasive and unrelenting.
For those reasons, ChatGPT has let us down in devising a convincing hurkle-durkle. We don’t have to take that lying down. I could easily tell ChatGPT to redo the scenario and add more realistic flavors to the depiction.
We shall move on.
I’d like to see what ChatGPT says about the role of generative AI and hurkle-durkling.
Brace yourself.
- My entered prompt: “If a person was doing a hurkle-durkle, how might generative AI be of use to them during that time?”
- ChatGPT generated response:
“If a person is experiencing a hurkle-durkle and wants to make use of generative AI, there are several ways it could enhance their experience.”
“Story Generation: AI can generate personalized short stories or chapters to read while lounging in bed.”
“Interactive Learning: AI can provide interactive learning modules or answer questions on a variety of topics, allowing the person to learn something new while relaxing.”
“Brainstorming Ideas: AI can assist in brainstorming ideas for personal projects, hobbies, or creative writing.”
“Meditation and Mindfulness: AI can guide through mindfulness or meditation exercises, helping to enhance relaxation and mental well-being.”
“Virtual Companionship: AI chatbots can engage in light, friendly conversation, providing a sense of companionship without the need for social obligations.”
End of ChatGPT response
I would rate that answer as a C+ grade.
My logic is that though we did get indications of how generative AI can be used while lying around in bed, there wasn’t any direct connection made to the aspects of hurkling-durkling. I would have wanted the response to go into the uses of generative AI for aiding or curtailing a hurkle-durkle, along with doing analyses of hurkle-durkling, and so on.
Maybe the next time that ChatGPT gets retrained with more data from the Internet, my discussion herein about those applications of generative AI to hurkle-durkling will get scanned and incorporated into the AI. My remarks will live long and prosper (well, the AI maker will indubitably prosper from my insights).
Conclusion
We all confidently know that according to Benjamin Franklin, early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise. That’s a core cultural premise and a seemingly ironclad rule of life. Getting out of bed on a prompt and avid basis appears inextricably linked to well-being, riches, and brains.
Hurkle-durkle ought to hold its head in utter shame.
The thing is, we are only giving hurkle-durkle a one-sided shake at what is transpiring. There is the possibility that upsized mental health might be a result of hurkle-durkling. Happy face. Do we have to only consider the downsides? Sad face.
Perhaps Andy Warhol gives us hope, per his famous quote: “Everything is more glamorous when you do it in bed anyway.”
