Waterbeds From Yesterday And Today

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Water beds have been around for a long time. The earliest water beds were created for use by the disabled, often in hospitals. A Scottish doctor, Neil Arnott designed a bed for people with bedsores in the early 1800's. He filled a tub with water and covered the tub with rubberized canvas. In 1871 a water bed was in use in New York by invalids. Mark Twain in one of his articles mentioned this bed. Other writings describe a water bed in use during the 1930's and 1940's. In the 1960's the water bed became popular.

The early water beds of the 1960's consisted of a vinyl mattress filled with water and placed inside a wood frame with a heavy platform. These were awkward to get into and created a wave effect when getting in and moving on the bed. Of course, that wave effect was relaxing, kind of like being rocked. However, if you were sleeping with a partner, you also might be woken up whenever he rolled over.

Today, inexpensive water mattresses might still only consist of one water chamber, but good quality water beds have several chambers and may have air chambers as well as water chambers. The new styles also look like conventional box spring and mattress beds. The sides that hold a water bed mattress are made of hard foam rails so it feels like you are getting into a conventional bed.

Benefits

Comfort and health benefits are the main reasons people like water beds. Many people suffer from backaches. Because in a water bed, the mattress forms around the body, pressure points are minimized, which allows the muscles around the spine to relax. Also, because water beds are heated, the whole body relaxes and circulation is increased. This may even lower blood pressure.

For the same reasons, people with arthritis find relief from joint pain. Invalids who are confined to bed for long periods find that increased blood circulation helps prevent bed sores (which was one of the early reasons water beds were invented). It is not surprising that the relaxing effect of a waterbed often reduces insomnia.

Disadvantages

There are some disadvantages to consider if you are thinking of buying a water bed. For most people the benefits more than compensate for the disadvantages, but you should be aware of them before you purchase. A water bed must be heated and with the rising costs of electricity and natural gas, this can be expensive. If you move, you have to drain the water and take the frame apart, then reassemble it in your new home. Occasionally leaks occur. While a liner will catch the water and prevent damage, you have the inconvenience of draining the mattress to fix the leak. You should also be very cautious before ever placing a water bed in a child's room, instead getting a kids bed that will pose no leaking problems if jumped or played on!