The Future of Waterbeds

Waterbed was invented for medical reasons and has undergone continuous changes since its invention in the early 1800s by a Scottish physician Neil Arnott. In 1871, waterbed was used in Elmira, NY. Dr William Hooper introduced the first patent waterbed in 1883.

It was a failure due to the incapability of holding water and controlling its temperature. Charles Hall was the person who created the first successful modern waterbed. Even today, this type of bed is commonly used for ailing various diseases.

What is a Waterbed?

Waterbed, also known as water mattress, is a bed or mattress that is filled with water. The main feature of a waterbed is its strength, stability, and durability. There are two types of waterbeds classified as –

* Hard-Sided Waterbed: This is classic form of waterbed with a water-containing mattress inside a rectangular frame of wood.

* Soft-Sided Waterbed: This is the most popular type of waterbed that consists of a water-containing mattress inside a rectangular frame of strong foam.

Benefits of Waterbed

Depending on its usage and design, a waterbed has much benefit as compared to the traditional beds. Some of these include – (wasserbett / wasserbetten)

* A waterbed primarily helps in solving many health related issues. This type of bed is useful for people suffering from backaches, arthritis, asthma, allergies, eczema, insomnia, and bedsores.
* Waterbed is very useful in winters due to its heating capability. This provides a warm environment and also helps the muscles to relax while sleeping.
* One of the biggest advantages of a waterbed is its ability to take the shape of the body of a person that helps in minimizing pressure around joints and spine.
* Lastly, a waterbed has a long lifespan of around 12 years, which is greater than a traditional bed.

Disadvantages of Waterbed

Although waterbeds are popular due to its benefits but there are some advantages of using these beds too. Some of these include –

* Its biggest advantage is the possibility of leakage. Although one can use plastic liners to avoid it.
* Heating a waterbed is costly and consumes greater amount of power as compared to other electrical items.
* Emptying, patching, refilling, heating, and moving a waterbed are a difficult and time-consuming process.

Bright Future of Waterbeds

Charles Hall once confessed that he designed this bed in order to overcome his various physical ailments by designing this ‘perfect hospital bed’. Even today, many people are opting these beds in curing their health issues.

Benefits of waterbeds have given it an edge over the regular and traditional beds.

These serve multiple purposes of sleeping, relaxing, and healing physical ailments of the users. In near future, with more inventions and developments, one can see a bright future of waterbeds