Mattresses History and Disection

One great mattress today.

What is a mattress?  A mattress is where we sleep, of course.  It is also much more.  Humans have been using mattresses for centuries to comfort themselves as they sleep.  Mattresses seem to first appear in the Neolithic period.  Those mattresses were simple piles of material, grasses, leaves, and etc. designed to raise the body off the floor and help deter pests and provide comfort.  Over the centuries the mattress has evolved in materials and makeup.  Egyptians slept on palm leaves mounded in the corner of their homes, the Romans put materials like hay or wool into bags to sleep on.  By the Renaissance period, the surrounding of the mattress, what we call the tick was made more visually appealing with richer fabrics and a more consistent look.  By the mid 18th century the covers were made of linen or cotton, but they were still essentially stuffed with things like cotton, hay, feathers and down, and even wool and horse hair.  Towards the end of the 19th century the first technological change began to appear, innerspring mattresses.  Innerspring beds were much lighter and they had a more consistent feel.  In the modern world there are four major mattress designs.  Innerspring mattresses are still around.  There are all foam beds, either latex or viscoelastic memory foam.  Water beds which became popular in the mid 20th century.  And air supported mattresses which began being marketed in 1981.

Innerspring mattresses at their core are steel springs designed to support your body.  Above the springs are comfort materials.  If we lay on just the springs, it would be very uncomfortable, but the materials above them give us a zone that is much softer.  These materials can be anything from natural fibers like cotton to high tech foams.  The springs transfer body weight in a more graduated way than a flat surface.  Innerspring were first used in the late 1800's and constant research has been done since, making them a much superior product to the original designs.  The core of spring beds are generally manufactured by just a few companies like Leggett and Platt one of the first to patent a spring design.

Water beds have been around for a while as well.  In 3600 BC Persians filled goat skins with water to sleep on.  The modern water bed was designed in the late 1960's by Charles Hall.  Water bed sales peaked in the middle 1980's with a 22% market share.  Water as a sleep medium offers some advantages.  It allows the body to go to a normal walking posture, which will take the stress off joints and ligaments.  Water beds also distribute weight better than springs, reducing pressure points, which makes them a good choice for long term bed confinement in alleviating bed sores.  There are a couple of counter points.   First the bladder is non porous (so the water doesn't escape) trapping heat between the body and the top of the bladder.  The bladders can leak, resulting in the sleeper getting wet.  And water has a tendency to move from heavier objects which forms a slight hammock effect. 

Next we will discuss foam mattresses.  There are several different types of foam, but ultimately the support comes in layers.  Most often there is a base foam of higher density that is tuned to the topper pad which can be made of latex, or visco memory foam.  The top layers are not as supportive, but offer comfort, much like the comfort materials in innerspring mattresses.  The foam will contour to the body reducing pressure by spreading more of itself across a wider area of the sleepers body.  Like innerspring, foam comes in different densities to satisfy individual comfort and support needs.  Quality foam mattresses will last twice as long as innerspring, a good step forward.  There is a limit to the lifespan based mostly of the person sleeping on it.  Our bodies do not stay the same during our lives, and because of this we need different support levels at different stages of life.  As a result, the mattress needs to be replaced as our body's needs change.

The last mattress design available in the modern day is air support sleep technology.  The first mass market design was introduced in 1981 by a company named Comfortaire.  By 1987, another company entered the scene, Select Comfort.  There are of course others, less well known, but between these two companies the number of patents they own make them the better manufacturers.  Air is similar to water in its concept, but the physics are slightly different.  Air will allow the body into a more natural posture, like water, but air will go to areas of lesser pressure increasing the support over water.  Like water, the air chambers can leak, but air is dryer and the material in the chamber is normally thicker.  Air supported sleep systems can offer adjust ability on each side, allowing the sleepers to control their own comfort.  And air is lighter which makes moving the bed easier.  Like all beds air is the support system.  Above this system are differing comfort materials which are designed to deflect pressure, feel great, and can incorporate heat control.  Comfortaire has even introduced a hybrid design, using air and foam in tandem to produce a air chambered bed with a unique feel.  Most air supported sleep systems feature a 6 inch latex and cotton or canvas chamber for durability.  This material can be thicker than water beds, offering a better quality product.  With the adjust ability, air supported sleep systems are the longest lasting of all beds.  Comfortaire claims there are still people sleeping on their original design beds introduced in 1981.  Air systems, like water are modular in design, allowing individual components to be replaced if needed, it is sort of like other products like cars, where when tires wear out or batteries die, they are replace rather than replacing the entire unit.

Mattresses have evolved over time.  Not every mattress is the perfect mattress for every body.  However, it is a great time to be alive!  Our options today are much broader than palm leaves in the corner.  Choose by trying them all.

Sleep Well!