Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Sleep. That must have rest we must all need daily to rejuvenate. It may be the full night's sleep or that 20 minute power nap in the car or public park, but sleep we must have for healthy living.
Over time, where one rests their bones after the day's labour has become a lifestyle thing, serviced by multibillion dollar industries around the world with many universities devoting serious time to research the science of sleep.
In these modern days, the bed is mostly a wooden frame with wooden sleepers on which is laid a foam matress. The matress will be protected with a fitted sheet, or what many call a matress cover. This is followed by bedsheets and blanket(s) or duvet to ensure the bed has the right temperature. At the top of the bed will be a pillow for head and neck comfort
Beside these basics, many other things go into the bed to improve it's hygiene, aesthetics and comfort. These include a bed skirt/dust ruffle, mattress protector/pad/topper, pillow protectors/covers, pillow sham, quilt/coverlet and bed scarf/spread.
The modern bedspread is the product of many cultures and although it is not one of the things a casual visitor will see, it tells a lot about the owner's taste and hygiene standards. Many people have lost prospective relationships because their bed was found lacking or in poor hygiene.
Growing up in Kenya in the 1960s to 1980s, most ordinary people fashioned their beds from local materials - usually poles with rafters with a matress made of sacks and straw. Those who came into some money upgraded to beds made with recycled rubber grids while the elite bought imported factory manufactured Vono beds.
The Vono bed, one of the marks of elitism along with a gramaphone, bicycles etc used to have wooden head and foot boards with dozens of springs supporting a mattress for a bouncy experience. Though considered the epitome of comfort, the metal and spring ensemble was the source of many embarrasing mornings as it tended to produce this kaching ching ching sound that announced to the neighbourhood that the bed owners were engaging in adult things. Many Vono bed owners would wake up to be greeted by neighbours wearing these sheepish grinss and sometimes have to explain to their young children why there was an earthquake only in their bedroom.
Sometimes the bedsprings lost their tension and the bed sagged giving rise to what people called "boat" beds. A pair sleeping in such a bed would wake up to find they ended up piled on each other in the middle of the bed. Kids who wetted their beds would come to realize that the springs had rusted and left a hole in the bed.
It wasn't long before doctors attributed increasing spine problems to the spring beds that sagged around the body's middle, giving rise to the the flat bedspread made of timber sleepers or sometimes the sleepers enhanced with a plywood.
Around the same time, matressess that were erstwhile made of cloth sacking filled with wool, feathers and down, cotton waste, horsehair, plant fiber and coir (coconut "hairs"} or such other "soft" material, gave way to the current "foam" mattresses. The foam was material made of polyurethane, memory foam or latex. The foam mattresses come in various sizes and densities to suit one's taste and pocket with some of the premium styles marketed as "orthopaedic" to emphasize their ability to keep users bones healthy.
While some people do not bother with the aesthetics of where they sleep as visitors are not likely to see them, there's need to make sleeping quarters welcoming and healthyfor oneself. Upgrade your place of rest today.
Over time, where one rests their bones after the day's labour has become a lifestyle thing, serviced by multibillion dollar industries around the world with many universities devoting serious time to research the science of sleep.
In these modern days, the bed is mostly a wooden frame with wooden sleepers on which is laid a foam matress. The matress will be protected with a fitted sheet, or what many call a matress cover. This is followed by bedsheets and blanket(s) or duvet to ensure the bed has the right temperature. At the top of the bed will be a pillow for head and neck comfort
Beside these basics, many other things go into the bed to improve it's hygiene, aesthetics and comfort. These include a bed skirt/dust ruffle, mattress protector/pad/topper, pillow protectors/covers, pillow sham, quilt/coverlet and bed scarf/spread.
The modern bedspread is the product of many cultures and although it is not one of the things a casual visitor will see, it tells a lot about the owner's taste and hygiene standards. Many people have lost prospective relationships because their bed was found lacking or in poor hygiene.
Growing up in Kenya in the 1960s to 1980s, most ordinary people fashioned their beds from local materials - usually poles with rafters with a matress made of sacks and straw. Those who came into some money upgraded to beds made with recycled rubber grids while the elite bought imported factory manufactured Vono beds.
The Vono bed, one of the marks of elitism along with a gramaphone, bicycles etc used to have wooden head and foot boards with dozens of springs supporting a mattress for a bouncy experience. Though considered the epitome of comfort, the metal and spring ensemble was the source of many embarrasing mornings as it tended to produce this kaching ching ching sound that announced to the neighbourhood that the bed owners were engaging in adult things. Many Vono bed owners would wake up to be greeted by neighbours wearing these sheepish grinss and sometimes have to explain to their young children why there was an earthquake only in their bedroom.
Sometimes the bedsprings lost their tension and the bed sagged giving rise to what people called "boat" beds. A pair sleeping in such a bed would wake up to find they ended up piled on each other in the middle of the bed. Kids who wetted their beds would come to realize that the springs had rusted and left a hole in the bed.
It wasn't long before doctors attributed increasing spine problems to the spring beds that sagged around the body's middle, giving rise to the the flat bedspread made of timber sleepers or sometimes the sleepers enhanced with a plywood.
Around the same time, matressess that were erstwhile made of cloth sacking filled with wool, feathers and down, cotton waste, horsehair, plant fiber and coir (coconut "hairs"} or such other "soft" material, gave way to the current "foam" mattresses. The foam was material made of polyurethane, memory foam or latex. The foam mattresses come in various sizes and densities to suit one's taste and pocket with some of the premium styles marketed as "orthopaedic" to emphasize their ability to keep users bones healthy.
While some people do not bother with the aesthetics of where they sleep as visitors are not likely to see them, there's need to make sleeping quarters welcoming and healthyfor oneself. Upgrade your place of rest today.
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