PENTA SPRINGS LIMITED/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
The average person spends about a third of their life asleep. Those over 67 sleep more than anyone else, and those with no children (perhaps not surprisingly) sleep more than those with. Although some of that sleep happens in unusual places—like airplanes, cars, and theaters—most of it happens in a bed.
Humans have been making beds for thousands of years. Although the earliest beds were simple layers of soft foliage and leaves, beds with frames began to appear around 3200 BCE in several places around the world, including Scotland, Malta, and Egypt. The simple sandstone bed frames from Scotland, found in houses alongside dressing tables and storage boxes, contrast nicely with the six different beds found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb (14th century BCE), including a gilded bed and a folding camp bed—which may be the first folding bed of its kind. Beds were also used in ancient Canaan and Israel, as indicated by biblical references to royal beds (Deuteronomy 3:11; 1 Kings 19:15).
By Roman times, beds had evolved into more specialized furniture. Although Roman beds are virtually indistinguishable from couches, the Romans actually had names for different types of beds depending on how they were used: study beds, newlywed beds, funeral beds, and eating beds, just to name a few.
It wasn’t until the Victorian era at the end of the 19th century that the coil spring mattress was invented by Henry Westphal. From Westphal’s invention, which is still in use today, to more recent options for slumber (e.g., water beds, heated beds, adjustable beds), beds have come a long way from the leaves and foliage that were first used.
The average person spends about a third of their life asleep. Those over 67 sleep more than anyone else, and those with no children (perhaps not surprisingly) sleep more than those with. Although some of that sleep happens in unusual places—like airplanes, cars, and theaters—most of it happens in a bed. Humans have been making beds for thousands of years. Although the earliest beds were simple layers of soft foliage and leaves, beds with frames began to appear around 3200 BCE in several places around the world, including Scotland, Malta, and Egypt. The simple sandstone bed frames from Scotland, found […]
