The History of Mattresses

The word mattress is derived from an Arabic word for “mat” or “cushion.” The invention of the mattress can be traced back to primitive roots as far back as 9500 B.C. by what are commonly referred to as “cave men”. Beds were raised from the ground for reasons other than style, but rather to avoid drafts, dirt, and pests. The first mattresses were most likely made of piles of leaves, grass, or straw, covered with animal skins. About 3,000 B.C., mattresses began to be constructed with stuffing inside a mattress. In Persia, goatskins filled with water are the predecessors of the modern day water bed. By 200 B.C. Ancient Romans commonly used cloth bags stuffed with hay, reeds, wool, and if were wealthy, feathers.

During the Renascence, mattresses were still made from organic materials such as pea shucks, straw, or sometimes feathers, and put into supportive coarse bags before being covered with velvets, brocades, or silks. During the 16th and 17th centuries, mattresses were stuffed with straw or down and placed on bed frames of timber with a latticework of rope or leather for support. By the 18th century the use of cotton and wool stuffing with quality linen or cotton covers became popular and began to take a standard rectangular size. Box springs were invented in the 18th century, helping reduce lumps in a mattress.

In the 1930’s Innerspring mattresses with upholstered foundations as well as artificial fillers became popular. Enclosed coil spring mattresses, which are springs sewn into connecting fabric compartments, were first used. By the 1950’s mattresses became something that we are more familiar with the use of foam rubber mattresses. With the invention of vial, the 1960’s famously birthed the water bed while the 1980’s brought the first air mattresses. The latest advance in mattresses is memory foam fisrt used for bedding by Tempur-Pedic in 1992.
The evolution of the mattress is a long and fascinating one for something that is commonly taken for granted.