subject: Dont Fall Asleep, This Is The History Of Mattresses [print this page] Archaeological evidence suggests that since the birth of man, people have always found methods of making sleep a more comfortable pastime and what this means is that modern times see us sleeping in absolute luxury.
Weve evolved from the cavemen who used rocks as mattresses and covered them with grass, leaves and animal skins to try and make them warmer and softer and although a hard bed might be described as hard as a rock, actually we dont know how lucky we are.
The mattress later evolved into animal skins that were filled with water to give them cushioning and added comforted, ingenious considering you probably still think of the modern water bed as a bit of a phenomenon. Things quickly evolved and the Renaissance period added decadence even to mattresses by stuffing silk pouches with feathers and any other natural fibres that provided a bit of bounce and this is when the mattress really began to look like what we recognise it as today.
It wasnt long before some bright spark took things a step further and decided feathers and the like just didnt give enough support for the modern sleeper and so sprung mattresses were born. You can imagine how uncomfortable the prototypes were (think of beds in student halls or furnished rented accommodation and youre half way there!) but these clever people persevered and lucky for us, technology has continued to move on and the human race has never been so comfortable at night.
Now you can choose from an almost endless range of fillings, types of support, levels of support, heat control, electrical beds and hypoallergenic mattresses and each one will suit you, no matter how you sleep, whether youre prone to back problems or you just want to sink in and be warm and cosy. The problems now are that were all a bit spoilt and the choice is almost too wide, meaning mattresses cant quite live up to their hype for some people and when we need a new one, if youre not careful you can end up getting sucked into a whirlpool of mattresses.
Bed shops now sell everything from memory foam which moulds around your body to relieve pressure points and gently keep the spine aligned to pocket sprung mattresses which vary in levels of support from very soft to very firm and everything in between.
