07 What Is the Story Behind the Bed?

People spend about one-third of their lives asleep. We can survive longer without food than without sleep. Sleeping is very important, so the bed is important.Scientists say that the first bed was probably some leaves. Now, of course, beds are much better than that, and we have lots of choices. An average bed today lasts about fifteen years, and most people change beds about five times in their life. Even with all the beds in the world, people still invent new ones. And some people are still searching for the perfect bed.

For most of human history, people slept on layers of cloth, palm leaves, or furs. They laid these on the floor. In ancient Egypt, over three thousand years ago, the pharaohs were the first to raise their beds off the floor. They slept on light beds made of wood. You could fold the bed and carry it.Archaeologists found beds like this in Tutankhamen's tomb. People back then did not think soft pillows were necessary. The Egyptians put their heads on headrests made of wood and the Chinese had ceramic headrests.

After the year 100, only the rich had beds. Poor people still slept on the floor. The bed became a symbol of wealth. One emperor of Rome had a silver bed. Beds were also a person's most valuable possession. When Shakespeare died, he gave his second best bed to his wife. Beds were so special that in England, when a rich person traveled to another person's home, he took his bed with him. When a person stayed at a hotel for the night, he had to share a bed with strangers. If a rich person came to the hotel, the manager threw a poor traveler out of a bed to make room. All this sharing meant that beds were not very clean, and insects lived in them. Some people, especially rich women,slept on a chair when they traveled.

After 1750, beds became beautiful pieces of furniture. They were made of carved wood. A beautiful bed at that time could cost$1 million in today's money. The beds had four posts, one on each corner. People used these to hang curtains around the bed. The curtains helped to keep the bed warm. Also, because you passed through one room to get to another, the curtains were good for privacy.

Beds also became higher and higher. Queen Victoria slept on a bed with seven mattresses on top of each other. She had steps beside the bed to reach the top. Mattresses usually had straw on the inside (for poor people) or feathers (for the rich). After 1820, people slept on cotton mattresses with metal springs inside them. Beds made of metal became popular, too. The best beds were made of a yellow metal called brass. Metal beds were better for your health than beds made of wood, because they had fewer insects in them. That's why hospital beds are metal today.

In ancient Rome, people slept in their everyday clothes. In England, people did not wear clothes in bed. They wore a cap to keep their head and ears warm. Later, men wore nightshirts and women wore long nightdresses and hats. It was only after 1890 that men started to wear pajamas.

People had interesting ways to keep warm in bed. Many families shared one big bed. Some people had a small dog in bed to keep their feet warm. Sometimes, people warmed the bed before they got into it.They warmed stones,wrapped them in cloth,and put them in the bed. Later, they used bottles with hot water inside. One English Prime Minister, William Gladstone, filled his bottle with tea in case he was thirsty at night.

Some people in Asian cultures prefer to sleep on the floor. They sleep on a thick mattress of cloth layers called a futon.They can roll up the futon and put it away during the day. Some people put their futon on a low frame rather than on the floor. Then it looks a lot like a Western-style bed.

Beds today come in every size and shape. We have round beds, king-size beds,bunk beds,adjustable beds,waterbeds,airbeds,and futons. Are you feeling sleepy yet? Sweet dreams!