Sleep tight
Night night, sleep tight,
Don’t let the bed bugs bite.
What does ‘sleep tight’ mean?
There is a plausible, but possibly mistaken explanation for this. Rope beds were invented in the 16th century. Before the 19th century mattresses were stuffed with straw or feathers or horsehair and suspended on and supported by a web of ropes. (The very poorest people slept on a filled sack mattress on the floor!)
With time, the ropes would sag and need to be tightened with a wrench. This led to people thinking that ‘sleep tight’ referred to the tightening of ropes to provide a sounder night’s sleep.
However, rope beds gradually fell out of use after sprung mattresses were produced in the mid-19th century. The phrase ‘sleep tight’ was not seen in print until 1866 and became common usage in the early 20th century. By that time, rope beds were a thing of the past.
To ‘’sleep tight’ or ‘sit tight’ means to remain still or secure. Bidding someone to sleep tight was a way of wishing them a good, restful night’s slumber.
‘Don’t let the bed bugs bite’ was added to the phrase later, although it is certain that mattresses were repositories of many types of tiny pests. Mattresses had to be shaken and beaten regularly to dislodge bugs. Usually, if the stuffing was of straw or hay or pea husks, it would be replaced entirely at harvest time.
There is an alternative suggestion which is that ‘bed bug’ was the name for the tightening wrench for a rope bed, and it would sometimes jump back and hit or’ bite’ the hand that was holding it.
Bed bugs are not entirely the affliction of poverty-stricken people. Like cockroaches, they are ancient insects and have adjusted to living with humans. It is thought that they originally lived in caves in the Middle East, where they fed on bats. Eventually they adapted their feeding to humans who inhabited the caves. They are attracted to body heat and the carbon dioxide humans exhale.
They cannot fly or jump but can crawl quickly onto clothing or other personal items. Thus, when travelling to places where bed bugs might be encountered, it is advisable to keep luggage off the floor and away from mattresses and walls. Bed bugs creep into small crevices and seams.
Furthermore, unpack immediately on returning home and wash and dry everything at as high a temperature as possible. An infestation of bed bugs is difficult to eradicate.
