A bed () is a piece of furniture used as a location to sleep or relax. It has a secondary use as a place to engage in sexual relations. Most modern beds consist of a soft mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base. In North America many beds include a box spring inner-sprung base, a large mattress-sized box containing wood and springs that provide additional support and suspension for the mattress. Most beds have a headboard for resting against, with others also having side rails and footboards (or “footers”). “Headboard only” beds often incorporate a “dust ruffle”, “bed skirt”, or “valance sheet” to hide the bed frame. For greater head support, most people use a pillow, placed on the top of a mattress, which are usually made from a soft material. Also used is some form of covering blanket to insulate the sleeper, often bed sheets, a quilt, or a duvet, collectively referred to as bedding. Bedding is the removable non-furniture portion of a sleeping environment. Also, some people prefer to dispense with the box spring and bed frame, and replace it with a platform bed style. This is more common in Europe, Australia, and Japan.
