# Why are beds elevated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632 "2012-02-22T15:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/21 "2012-02-22T20:04:51Z")
When beds were first put on risers, floors were made of dirt. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/22 "2012-02-22T20:12:25Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > A mattress directly on the floor means no bed frame so no place to put bed springs. This means you need to get the right mattress for your weight and frame and muscles, not the cheap 99$ foam mattress from around the corner. So what? When I went a couple weeks without a bed frame in college, I just put the box springs on the floor and the mattress on that. Box springs don’t have anything to do with a frame. > [@](#): > > Additionally, you need more thickness to cushion against the very hard concrete floor common in western world buildings than against stamped earth common in other places. Many ground floors in houses in America have wooden joists, not concrete. Almost all upper floors are made with wooden joists. Maybe it’s a little different in some cheap apartment buildings, but I can’t imagine they’re all just a thin layer of carpet over concrete. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/23 "2012-02-22T20:18:55Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > That’s a quirk of your heating system. With hypocaustic heat, the floor is warm and cozy. In Korea, most homes have hypocaustic heat and most people sleep on the floor. Bedding is folded up every morning, so space and cleanliness is not an issue. Of course, they also generally keep their homes’ floors much cleaner than most Westerners do. Neat! Thanks for that word. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/24 "2012-02-22T21:47:31Z")
The higher the bed, the closer you are to heaven when the time comes. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/25 "2012-02-22T21:58:46Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > So what? When I went a couple weeks without a bed frame in college, I just put the box springs on the floor and the mattress on that. Box springs don’t have anything to do with a frame. I suspect he was thinking of [this type of frame](http://www.cascadeslodge.com/images-rooms/trundle%20bed%20frame.png), which is used with just a mattress and no box spring. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/26 "2012-02-22T22:11:21Z")
Isn’t the first thing that actually made putting a mattress on something other than the floor worth the trouble the original “box-spring” a wooden frame strung with rope? Which doesn’t do anything if it isn’t elevated. Supposedly this is what the _sleep tight_ in “sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” is referring to. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/27 "2012-02-22T23:29:12Z")
Storage space underneath is a factor in crowded environments. > [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Who decided that we should all sleep 3-4 feet above the floor? I have seen very, very few beds that high off the ground. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/28 "2012-02-23T02:06:12Z")
I once read a historical novel set in Louisiana in the 1700’s, on an indigo plantation. Indigo attracts ants, bugs. Every foot of every bed in the plantation mansion was set into a metal container filled with water, to keep the ants from swarming up onto the bed and so over the sleeper. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/29 "2012-02-23T02:29:28Z")
Also, it makes it easier on the ankle grabbing monster-under-the-bed. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/30 "2012-02-23T02:30:13Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Having to push yourself all the way up from the floor can be a real problem for the elderly or people with arthritis or other joint problems. If they had habitually done it their whole life it probably wouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/31 "2012-02-23T02:56:52Z")
It makes it quite a bit easier for doctors to examine and treat people if they are elevated. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/32 "2012-02-23T04:37:08Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It makes it quite a bit easier for doctors to examine and treat people if they are elevated. This response made me laugh out loud. You have a marvelous grasp of the obvious. [/Cheers quote] ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/33 "2012-02-23T07:34:25Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > So what? When I went a couple weeks without a bed frame in college, I just put the box springs on the floor and the mattress on that. Box springs don’t have anything to do with a frame. Um, just how does that work?? If the springs aren’t hanging with room underneath to expand/ move, then they’re not doing what they are meant to do. I also used box springs in the generic sense, because there are many kinds of suspense system. The cheaper ones are thin wooden boards in a frame suspended; some systems are integrated into the mattress, some come with motors to adjust the bed individually etc. None of these work if there is no space beneath them because they sit directly on the floor, and most won’t work if not supported by a frame. > [@](#): > > Many ground floors in houses in America have wooden joists, not concrete. Almost all upper floors are made with wooden joists. Maybe it’s a little different in some cheap apartment buildings, but I can’t imagine they’re all just a thin layer of carpet over concrete. Oh I’m sorry. I thought we were talking generally about the First World and not excuslivly about the US. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/34 "2012-02-23T08:07:25Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > One word: Bedbugs. even if you secure the legs, elevated beds don’t stop bedbugs. they climb up the wall and swan dive towards your delicious flesh. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/35 "2012-02-23T08:11:12Z")
Also, raised beds originated from the Middle East, where wooden floors are very rare. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/36 "2012-02-23T08:26:52Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > I’d imagine with all the sweating we do at night, a bed directly on the floor would get pretty mouldy. It might warp the floorboards as well. Back in the day, I had a landlord who made a point of forbidding us to lay a mattress directly on the floor for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/37 "2012-02-23T08:45:58Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:27, topic:613632”] Storage space underneath is a factor in crowded environments. I have seen very, very few beds that high off the ground. [/QUOTE] Recently went sightseeing to the Mughal emperor Akbar’s palace. His bed was a platform a good 7-8 feet off the ground, and apparently could be reached only by a retractable cloth ladder. I’m guessing it was that way to prevent or slow down assassination attempts ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/38 "2012-02-23T10:16:43Z")
I think it makes it warmer. N=1 ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/39 "2012-02-23T10:41:30Z")
Back in the day when [del]your mom[/del] people actually made the beds every day, an elevated bed is less likely to cause back ache. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632/40 "2012-02-23T10:50:36Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > That’s a quirk of your heating system. With hypocaustic heat, the floor is warm and cozy. In Korea, most homes have hypocaustic heat and most people sleep on the floor. Bedding is folded up every morning, so space and cleanliness is not an issue. Of course, they also generally keep their homes’ floors much cleaner than most Westerners do. Those of us who do not have carpeting disagree with your last sentence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-beds-elevated/613632.md?page=3)