What did Mark Twain say about Waterbeds? – September 19, 2022

Administrator A — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:13:28 +0000

A Waterbedtime Story sponsored by: InnoMax Corp.

In 1871, a waterbed was in use in Elmira, New York, for “invalids”. It was briefly mentioned by Mark Twain in his article “A New Beecher Church“, which was published in The New York Times on 23 July 1871. Twain wrote: “In the infirmary will be kept one or two water-beds (for invalids whose pains will not allow them to be on a less yielding substance) and half a dozen reclining invalid-chairs on wheels. The water-beds and invalid-chairs at present belonging to the church are always in demand, and never out of service”.

So while the pressure relieving benefits for burn patients and bed ridden invalids subject to bed sores have been known for quite some time, it wasn’t until after waterbeds became popular for residential use in the early 1970s that a significant amount of research on the health benefits relative to the general public was conducted. Being rather young and of the mind sleep was a necessary inconvenience at that time, it wasn’t until I’d aged a bit that I came to appreciate why so many people were so interested in researching the health benefits of sleep.

As it is now well documented that quality sleep can help rejuvenate the body while bolstering immune system and mental acuity, the quest has now become maximizing quality sleep. Things have certainly evolved for me on that front as now I find myself checking my sleep monitoring smart watch every morning to see how well I slept. And albeit not scientific, my personal observation is that my score goes way down if I’m tossing and turning which often happens when traveling and trying to sleep on uncomfortable mattresses.

Medical Waterbed advertisement from India

Given any force greater than 32mm/Hg applied to the human body will cause a restriction of the capillaries resulting in diminished blood flow, and that during a normal night of sleep an average person attempting to sleep on a too firm or too soft mattress may change positions 60-80 times due to impaired blood flow, it makes sense the elimination of pressure points would reduce tossing and turning for a deeper more restful sleep. The following pressure mapping comparison, circa 2000, illustrates how a waterbed distributes support more evenly too facilitate keeping pressure points below 30 mm/Hg.
While you can still find Free Flow mattresses for use with hardside box frames reminiscent of the original “modern” waterbed patented in 1971 online, fluid suspension sleep product design and technology has advanced significantly over the past 50 years.

One of the most significant advancements has been the advent of softside waterbeds. While looking like a traditional conventional mattress, softside waterbed mattresses include water chambers instead of innerspring support cores. So in addition to the convenience of using conventional size sheets and bedding, softside waterbeds offer the warmth and comfort of a hardside waterbed, without the hardside rails. And with fluid support, body weight is distributed more evenly over the surface mitigating pressure points to improve your quality of sleep.

While softside waterbeds may also be found online, better still, if you are ever in Denver, Colorado I personally recommend you test rest flotation sleep at the InnoMax factory showroom. And though you need not worry about bringing a pillow as your sleep consultant will be happy to provide one, because clients frequently doze off during test rest sessions, be sure to wear your sleep monitoring smart watch. For information contact 1-800-INNOMAX to schedule your flotation sleep test rest.

In conclusion, while documented a century prior to patents being issued for modern day waterbeds, Mark Twain’s remarks continue to speak volumes about the medical and health benefits of flotation sleep.

Contributing author is Irvin Saathoff a Waterbed ol’-timer who has worked in many aspects of the industry from design & product management to retail, wholesale and marketing. Check back in with the next issue when Waterbedtime Story shares yet another perspective. Meanwhile you can connect with InnoMax Corporation anytime atSleep@InnoMax.com.

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What did Mark Twain say about Waterbeds? – September 19, 2022