Once the lights are out and you've nestled down for a night's sleep, there is a good chance you don't think about the mattress you're sleep on. Unless, of course, it's too uncomfortable - or you have bed bugs. The mattress, that simplest of inventions, has been with us for thousands of years and while the concept is simple enough, like with any Thanksgiving turkey: it's all in the stuffing.
Mattresses came from the humblest of origins. Archaeological evidence suggests the first mattresses were used in during the Neolithic period. This seems to have marked the first time in human history when people started sleeping on raised platforms to avoid pests and drafts. These mattresses consisted mostly of piles of leaves, grass, straws and even tree boughs covered with animal skins. Around 3600 BC, there is evidence the Persians used beds made of tightly stitched goatskins that were filled with water, making them the first water beds!
By the time of the Romans, poorer quality mattresses were crafted from bags of cloth stuffed with hay or reeds. Wealthier citizens enjoyed matresses stuffed wth wool or feathers. This feather bed was one that would be recreated over and over all over the world. They are extremely warm and soft, and though they do take some maintenance, many of the people who still sleep on them consider them to be completely worth the time that it takes to keep them well maintained.
The mattress of the Renaissance consisted of a "tick," that is, a cloth form, that would then be filled with the stuffing material. Once again, the poor made do with things like reeds, pea shucks and straw, while the wealthy enjoyed feather mattresses. The very rich at this time would have the ticks made of tightly woven cloth and then covered with something more luxurious, like an embroidered brocade, silk or velvet. It is interesting to note that at this time, the mattresses were placed on wooden bed frames interlaced with ropes for support. The ropes had to be kept tight or the mattress would sag; hence the expression "sleep tight."
The use of metal springs did not begin until the 1850s. Indeed, the coupled spring and wooden bed slats did not appear until a bit later. The invention of the box spring made the mattress a lot less lumpy and upholstered foam foundations became the norm, as did artificial fillers. Take a look at the mattress that you sleep on and think a little bit about the history that it represents; mattresses have gone through many, many changes!