The modern mattress was invented gradually over time, with the need for better quality and the advance of technology.  The more technological invention would propel humanity, the more sophisticated and intricate the mattress would become. 

The word mat-tress in English is used in writing as far back as the year 1290 AD. 

Invention of the modern mattress as known today, began somewhere around the end of the Renaissance, in the 1700’s, with the birth of the Industrial Revolution.  Competition between scientists seems to have peeked with the onset of the NASA space program, which saw the invention of memory foam, so important, that mattress design and production have now become more competitively innovating than ever before.

In Old French “materas”, from Italian “materasso”, from Modern Latin “materacium”, the word was borrowed in Sicily from the Arabic word al-matrah “the cushion” could have carried the sense of “the thing thrown down”, from taraha “he threw down”.  The mattress was so important to people, that one culture borrowed words and ideas from another.  In the constant struggle to better the quality of life, through invention, humanity has progressed.  Progress in mattress design and quality was only crawling when the word mattress was invented.  By the 18th century, civilization was ready for the first innovative thoughts in mattress design.

Mattresses in the modern era can be said to have been a revolutionary invention, due to the use of cotton and wool, in place of substances such as horse hair, straw, pea shucks, and other organic materials that had certain sanitation issues to be dealt with.  The modern mattress can be said to have actually been invented, when sanitation in mattresses became an issue.  By the mid 1800’s, springs were invented, and innovation took to the rise of mixing technology and quality of life in such a way that it wasn’t until the 20th century, with the cold war propelling competition, that mattresses saw once again a revolution as strong as the inventions from early industrial entrepreneurs. 

Escaping gravity was an issue with NASA scientists that had to be addressed.  America wanted to be top-dog in the Aerospace industry, by being number one  with invention.  To rule the roost meant having to develop products never before actually touched by human hands, but seen theoretically in the human mind.  Memory foam was invented to help cushion the seats in space-shuttles, while escaping G forces.  Together with the invention of vinyl, the modern mattress finally reached its place in evolution. 

Today, innovation, good practical sense and modern science all go into keeping in touch with the original human need for a proper nights rest.

Regardless of how sophisticated and technologically advanced mattresses have become today, the slow advance of innovative and inventive designs have finally resulted in the modern mattresses we currently use. 

Invention of the modern mattress began in the middle ages, and swelled patiently through the Renaissance.  In the beginning of the Industrial Revolution the first hygienic mattresses appeared, and with the race to the stars in the 20th century, modern technology fueled the world for innovative designs that have become a science in their own right … a science that progresses constantly in the direction of an ever expanding better night’s sleep.