If mattresses could talk, they would tell us many things. Bedroom secrets, confessions, hidden passions, promises to keep, comforting hugs, painful silences… but above all, they would tell us many dreams.
Dreams that throughout history have been better received as technology, craftsmanship, the evolution of materials and the development of the human race have progressed, with its shortcomings and needs, with its rhythms.
If we look for the origin, the word mattress comes from the Latin culcîta, quilt, bed covering.
But what if we travel back in time to that first mattress? What would it be like? Well, we would find ourselves with the mattress designed by the Persians, sleeping in a skin bag filled with water.
Later civilizations would stuff it with hay and straw, although the primitive mattress could only do so at that time as to insulate its beautiful sleepers from the humidity of the ground, thus fostering a breeding ground for unwelcome germs.
Little by little, as if it were a recipe, they added new ingredients: such as wool fleece or bird feathers, among other elements, providing a little warmth to these mats that were beginning to be such necessary bases for rest.
But they still couldn't get these pieces to provide the comfort required for a restful sleep. Who knows if the concept of "comfort" was even in their vocabulary.
From the Neolithic period, through the Persians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, we can say that humanity slept in similar conditions, without considering the bed as a piece of furniture in the home that was in the bedroom. Understanding “bedroom” as the space dedicated to rest and to the order of personal belongings, as we understand it today.
However, we know that palm leaves were already piled up as mattresses in Egypt, and even Pharaoh Tutankhamun had a bed to sleep on, a piece of furniture so high that he had to climb up a ladder. Was it perhaps to be closer to the gods? In the Egyptian view, this would certainly not surprise us at all.
We know that the Greeks slept on wooden or marble slabs on which they stretched cloth. A few centuries later, the Romans took cloth sacks and filled them with straw or reeds, wool or feathers.
Even so, the bed as such, intended solely for rest, did not yet have the relevance it has today.
In the Middle Ages, the same materials were still used, organic elements to fill animal skins, creating nests for insects and parasites, even rodents that were born inside. They still did not provide comfort and stability, and they were also easily deformed.
It was at this point that they came up with the idea of ​​sewing the mattress in sections, so that they could be filled separately.
It was, however, during the Renaissance period, at the beginning of the Modern Age, when the aesthetic and decorative value of the bedroom began to be taken into account. Velvets and sumptuous fabrics of the best quality began to cover the mattress, which was decorated with rich embroidery.
The bed itself was considered a symbol of wealth and prestige. They were usually inherited and formed part of the trousseau of the women of the time.
It was in the Contemporary Period, from the 16th century onwards, that the idea of ​​the mattress as such emerged, as a basis for rest and well-being. It was at this stage that we found the structure of the bed, box spring and mattress. And above all, the need to create a new environment in the home where one could simply rest and keep personal belongings safe, away from kitchen fumes and broth smells.
A space where rest would take on a greater role, where those bedroom secrets would rest on more comfortable beds, covered with vaporous veils. I think of beds covered with canopies, with high wool mattresses, covered with laboriously woven blankets and sheets with rich embroidery of floral motifs with gold thread. An aroma of incense floating in the air, covering the bodily effluvia that emanated from the pores of the skin of those who inhabited those spaces - we know that hygiene was not the most important thing in those times, but well, that will be another chapter - now we return to our story of the mattress, we immerse ourselves again in that four-poster bed, we close our eyes and let ourselves fall on that soft wool mattress so richly decorated.
In some European countries there was the figure of the mattress maker, that character who dedicated himself, traveling from town to town, to fluffing, stuffing and airing wool mattresses. Because if there was one thing these pieces needed, it was to be aired frequently.
We close our eyes and when we open them we are already in the 17th century and we find ourselves on a spring mattress. We are uncomfortable, because these mattresses have cylindrical springs, instead of being cone-shaped. They move when we sit on them and sometimes even shoot out, breaking the upholstery. As we move, they stick into us, but they are a little more elaborate than the pieces we left behind on our journey. And we owe this to Heinrich Westphal, who despite living in extreme poverty - as often happened with the great geniuses of history - was the one who made the mattress in an artisanal way incorporating the springs.
Technical and technological innovation will come in the form of new materials that will be incorporated in the 20th century. One will be foam, which is polyurethane foam rubber; another will be pocket springs, placed horizontally in small bags, the latter providing greater comfort; another element will be memory foam, developed by NASA, with unique properties to relieve pressure on the body, providing that extra bit of well-being that was missing; and finally latex. The latex mattress was invented a hundred years ago by Edward Murphy. He worked with rubber at the Dunlop factory, so he knew firsthand the advantages of this material, ideal for providing a bit of body and at the same time being the best suited to heavier weights. Latex is a component extracted from some species of trees and plants.
Different foam thicknesses and the combination of these elements will make rest a more pleasant activity.
The evolution of mattresses has come a long way, but we know that there are still surprises in store for us, and that creatives will put all their effort into ensuring that experienced hands create new ways to achieve the perfect rest, a restful sleep.
Who knows how future generations will sleep?
My bet is made, your dreams will be embraced by a Clisiko mattress.
The history of the mattress
