Here at Michigan Tech, a gently swaying hammock between a couple trees is a fairly common sight on Walker lawn. They’re so numerous that students will even put hammocks over others, hanging them in stacks of up to five or six. Hammocks are even given away sometimes as prizes at Tech, so it is safe to say that hammocks are a significant part of Michigan Tech’s culture. While they are quite ubiquitous here, hammocks have been a part of many different cultures for hundreds of years.
Hammocks were first developed over a thousand years ago in Latin America by the Mayans. Typically weaved out of simple plant fibers or bark, the popularity of the bed within the different civilizations soared as it spread throughout the region due to its many advantages. It let people sleep soundly, knowing that the hammock kept them high above the reach of any diseased ridden pests or dangerous wildlife. This lead to people getting sounder sleep and being much healthier, so it was no surprise that hammocks were traded when the first Europeans arrived during the late 15th century. It was from this trade with the Taíno people of the Caribbean that Spanish and English gained numerous words, one such being the word “hammock.”
It took a while for hammocks to become widely used, thus it wasn’t until the dawn of the 17th century that European natives adopted the hammock as the standard bed for their sailors. They found it saved space on the already cramped ships as well as a means to keep sailors from falling out of bed as the ship swayed. Hammocks found more use in modern times after their suspension ropes were doused in insecticide, letting men sleep in relative peace when surrounded by insects. This lead to the hammock being adopted by construction crews of the Panama Canal, who feared yellow fever-laden mosquitoes of the thick jungle. The US Marines also adopted the hammock for its mobility and insect protection in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, and later Vietnam. It’s adoption as an access to a leisurely snooze in the US, however, stemmed mainly from the hammock-using settlers and pioneers as they trekked westward. Throughout its centuries of use, the hammock has always had great benefits, some that were only just recently discovered by Swiss research.
A team under professor of neurology Sophie Schwartz found in 2011 that adults that slept in a swaying bed had a better experience than those in a stationary bed. The soft rocking resulted not only in test subjects falling asleep faster, but they also had greater amounts of non-REM sleep as well as more slight bursts of brain activity. The results are promising; however, this does require more testing as this survey only had a dozen test subjects to work with. If further testing showed similar results, then it could be implied that relaxing in a gently swaying hammock is a good way to get better sleep.
The hammocks here at Michigan Tech are but another weave in the complex history of the hammock, one more group of people who have safely slumbered in the breeze. Moreover, hammocks will continue to be used by many different people of different cultures but with one purpose in mind, to get some rest.
One Response
I thought it was interesting how hammocks had lots of utility on ships. I never thought about how hammocks could be used in a way to help sailors avoid falling out of bed on rough seas. It makes me curious to think about how it could help with areas with high winds for a similar effect. https://www.majorcollectables.com/outdoor/patio-furniture/hammocks.html