Ever wonder where the saying “sleep tight” came from? How about “Don't let the bed bugs bite.” Well, now you can find out. Take a
tour of the history of beds, from the creation of the early beds of straw to modern day beds with magnets. It's a history from 3400 B.C.
to 2005 A.C.
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3400 BC
The bed frame of King Tut and other Pharaohs was made of ebony, gold, or silver. They have been described as pallets and as
shallow boxes. But it was the first time a bed was raised off the ground. The commoners slept on piles of palm bows.
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Renaissance 1450-1600
Romans developed the first mattress. Inexpensive, cotton fabrics were filled with hay, straw, or wool. Those who could afford more
might have a lower mattress with the hay or wool and a top mattress with feathers.
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16th – 17th Century
A new type of mattress holder was developed during the 16th century as well. It was a lattice made of rope or leather and attached to
a wooden frame. Mattresses were now commonly being stuffed with feathers. They used luxurious fabrics such as silk, brocade, and
velvet. They were incredibly soft compared to what they had been sleeping on. The only problem it didn’t solve was bugs. Bugs loved
to crawl around in the stuff previously used to stuff mattresses, but they liked the feathers too. This is the source of the saying “Don’t
let the bed bugs bite.”
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The first waterbed also emerged at this time. It was a water-filled goatskin. Some sources believe that the first waterbed wasn’t
something that many would consider a bed at all. “The sleeper would recline in a cradle of warm water until drowsy, then be lifted
onto an adjacent cradle with a mattress, where they would be rocked to sleep.” Can you imagine?
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18th Century
The first cotton mattresses along with iron and steel frames were introduced. The first coil spring mattress was patented in 1865. The
typical covers were now being made of high quality cotton.
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In 1873 a new kind of waterbed was introduced as a way to prevent or treat bed sores. This was more what we are accustomed to
seeing today.
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19th Century
This is the century that saw many and frequent changes in mattresses.
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In the early part of this century latex rubber mattresses were being produced. In 1918 the first Murphy Bed was produced in San
Francisco, CA.
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The Futon was introduced in the United States.
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Foam rubber mattresses and pillows were introduced.
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By 1960 springs and foam were the most popular mattresses, replacing all of the earlier natural fibres. And, with the introduction of
vinyl, waterbeds became much more popular.
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This is also the same time that adjustable beds were introduced.
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In the latter part of this century air mattresses were introduced.
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In 1987 the Sleep Number bed was introduced. “A mattress that uses air chamber technology, the best medium for providing comfort
and support, with the unique attribute of personalized adjustability.” (Select Comfort) Essentially the inner part of the mattress is
divided in half. This allows each side of the bed to be adjusted for a different firmness, essentially allowing you and your partner to
have your own preferred firmness in one mattress.
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The memory foam mattress showed up in the consumer market in the 1990’s. The memory foam conforms to your body to relieve
pressure points. The Tempur-pedic memory foam mattresses claims to be “the only one recognized by NASA.” Recognized for what
I’m not sure.
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Magnetic therapy has been used in Chinese medicine for nearly 2,000 years. However, it wasn’t until the late part of this century that
American physicians began to research and recommend magnetic mattress pads due to their proven ability to reduce pain for
patients with such ailments as arthritis, diabetes and fibromyalgia.
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It’s hard to imagine, but it wasn’t until 1999 that the queen size mattress became the most popular choice of mattress size, overtaking
the twin-size for the first time in history.
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20th Century
Well, we’re only a few years into the century. Let’s give the bed-brains some time to work on the exciting new offerings for this
century. Maybe a bed that would increase dream recall? Or make dreams more pleasant? Or….”
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