What exactly did the first person mean who said "sleep tight"?

Question

I mean is it bad to sleep loose, or relaxed or whatever the other possibilities are? Has someone actually been injured by "not sleeping tight?"

Answer 1

I did find this in "Listening to America" by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, 1982) in a section called "Beds, Bunks, Pajamas, and Nighty-Night" -- "As they had done in England, early colonists bid each other 'good night,' 'sleep soundly,' 'have a good night,' and 'God give you a good night.' Our American admonition 'sleep tight' became common in the 1880s, as did our breezier 'nighty-night' (1888)."

Earlier in the section, it does mention ropes, During early colonial and frontier days "A bed was then usually just a pallet of blankets on the floor or a tick filled with corn shucks, straw, or wood chips, but the more demanding settler might build a 'jack bed,' a platform on legs, usually placed in a corner of the room. If householders had a real 'bedstead,' with ropes or straps laced across the frame to hold the tick and serve as springs, they talked of it with pride (bed springs were not invented until 1831)."

So the expression became common in the 1880s, long after bed springs were invented in 1831. But maybe the expression was a holdover from frontier times.

The way I remember the nightly ritual, a person would say, "Sleep tight." The response was, "Don't let the bedbugs bite." Then, "See you in the morning light."

The OED records usage as far back as 1790 of "tight" meaning "soundly." Sleep tight seems to be the only surviving coloquial use that preserves that meaning. There are plenty of other uses of "tight" that have the sense of "snug" so the usage seems like it likely came from the feeling of being snug in your bed as a condition for sound sleep. No mention of ropes in this regard.

This reminds me of an old newspaper expression. It sounds like a vulgarism, but it referred to getting a story written fast and accurately with no superfluous words: "Get it right, get it tight and get it tonight.

Thanks for all the fish - Spider

Answer 2

It seems that tight in this expression is the equivalent of the only surviving use of the adverb tightly meaning 'soundly, properly, well, effectively'. The full Oxford English Dictionary labels the adverb 'now dialectal' and the adjective 'colloquial'. The phrase Good night, sleep tight is a conventional (rhyming) formula used when parting for the night or at bedtime.

like sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite, and if they do, hit em with a shoe, til they're black and blue. hehe

Answer 3

Sleep tight came from the 15 and 16 hundreds. Before there were bed springs they strung ropes up and down and across on their bed frames to hold their sleeping mats.
If the ropes were not tight the bed sagged and it made for a miserable nights sleep and a morning backache.
So the term sleep tight was created.

Answer 4

I was having alot of anxiety before sleeping and could not fall asleep. Had many many sleepless nights.

I was just playing with the program one afternoon and wanted to listen to the �Power Nap� track. Next thing I knew I was waking up! Fell right asleep without trying. After using the �Fall Asleep� track, I could fall asleep right away. But I didn't realize that I shouldn't be using that one all night. Switched to Whole Night and have been using it ever since.

I can go to sleep with ease now. I just lay and listen to the sounds and next thing I know I am waking up from a nice sleep. I don't suffer from lack of sleep anymore. I keep an IPod with earbuds next to my bed and take it ALWAYS when traveling. The earbuds help block out ambient noise and the sleep tracks keep me sleeping sound :)

Reboot your brain & sleep soundly again?

Answer 5

It is from an old English saying.
People would have mattresses that were strapped to the beds with strings. Not mattresses like we know them today of course.
You would tighten your mattress before going to bed.
A tight bed would provide a better quality of sleep supposedly because it wouldn't come easily apart depending on what you were doing.

Answer 6

Sleep tight which means 'sleep well' is a term which comes from how beds were made. Beds used to be made of ropes and would often slack and become loose which made sleeping very unconfortable. So, in order to sleep well you had to make the ropes as tight as possible before falling asleep.

Answer 7

Before mattresses and springs, beds were actually lashed together with a series of straps.

If you have a firm bedding, that meant the lashes were retightened often. So, if you "sleep tight", you get a firm, restful sleep

Answer 8

It was in a story where soldiers of WW I were sharing bunkers and the captain ordered them to cluster together so everyone can have a place to lie down...

As i said it was a story...

Answer 9

I guess to keep the covers wrapped so tight around you that bed bugs could not bite you.

Answer 10

I will contemplate my answer while drowsing in church!!
Back later, friend.

Okay , I have had my Sunday nap, via the sermon.

To me, to sleep tight, is to sleep soundly .......... To be secure and cozy in bed.
As in: Sunshine MacGillicutty and U.S.Marshal Matt Dillon slept tight ......... This of course was AFTER their love making marathon!