When you’re wrapped up in your toasty down comforter, it’s hard to imagine what our early ancestors used as bedding. Did they sleep on the cold cave floor under an animal pelt? Or did they just shiver the whole night? Do you think they ever hung colorful leaves or animal feathers for unique wall decor?

With all they had to do to survive during the day, our early ancestors deserved a good night’s rest. But did they ever get it? Let’s look at the history of bedding and how it’s changed through the ages.

Give me a skin and a soft piece of dirt

About 10,000 years ago, in the Neolithic Era, people slept on branches and animals pelts. Talk about a nightmare! Imagine trying to catch a snooze with branches poking you. And you think those feathers inside your down comforter are annoying.

“Beds,”as we know them trace back to 3400 BC with the Egyptian pharaohs, the first people to sleep off the ground, on raised areas. Most people, with the exception of the rich slept on palm bows heaped in the corner of their homes. King Tutankhamun, made his bed of ebony and gold.

Beds evolved from there. The Romans slept on bags filled with feathers, wool, and more. There you have it: the start of down comforters and feather beds! Romans also bedecked their bedding with paint, bronze, silver, jewels and gold.

Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite

After the Renaissance, society became smarter and bedding changed forever. People stuffed their mattresses with straw, feathers, or hay and placed them on woven ropes. This is where the term “sleep tight” comes from. To “sleep tight” meant to pull the ropes until the bed was in a comfortable position.

In the mid 18th century, covers were made with quality linen or cotton. Bed structures comprised timber until later in the century, when cast iron came into play. At that time, bedbugs and vermin made sweet dreams impossible. People believed that the combination of cast-iron and cotton turned the creepy crawlers away.

Coils, cotton, water and space foam

The first coil spring was patented in 1865 and the rest is history. Futons were introduced way back in the 1940′s, waterbeds made a splash in the 1960′s, and memory foam technology lifted off in 1990′s. In the 2000′s, people continue to optimize their beds for comfort and now sleep on plush pillows and goose down comforters. We’ve come along way since animal skins!

Bedrooms can provide rest relaxation and comfort ( in any price range)

Create a place to relax and unwind. Choose high thread count all cotton sheets, comfortable pillows and use ambient lighting to create atmosphere. Warm soothing colors can relax while deep, jewel colors can create a sexy & exotic feel. Choose artwork that fits the theme or use clusters of fine art prints for an even bigger effect.

Elwood Bradford travels the world in search of perfect goose down pillows and writes about his findings.