Question of the Day: What do you think cavemen slept on before pillows?

December 9, 2025

Every once in a while, the Question of the Day drifts into territory that feels a little unhinged in the best possible way. Today is one of those days. What do you think cavemen slept on before pillows. I cannot help it, this question cracks me up, because the more I think about it, the more ridiculous the possibilities become.

We have built our whole modern existence around comfort. We sleep on memory foam. We sleep on cooling gel. We buy pillows with seven zones and ergonomic dips and bamboo covers that cost more than the entire contents of a caveman’s cave. And here I am, picturing our prehistoric ancestors wandering around the wilderness trying to figure out how to make something even close to comfortable.

My first guess is leaves. Just a huge, crunchy pile of them. Not a soft curated pile either. I’m talking whatever leaves they could scoop together before a saber-toothed something showed up. But then again, maybe they wanted something sturdier. So maybe they grabbed moss. Nature’s foam. It’s basically the original Tempur-Pedic. Soft enough, cool enough, and free. But even that feels too thoughtful for a caveman whose full time job was not dying.

Which brings me to my personal favorite visual. A caveman walking outside, grabbing a hunk of earth like a slice of cake, sod and roots and all, and dragging it back into his cave. A prehistoric mattress topper. He plops down on it like he has just solved evolution.

And honestly, maybe he did. Because the more I sit with this silly question, the more it taps into something real. We have gotten so used to being comfortable that we forget humans survived a very long time without it. They slept wherever they could. On whatever they had. Their version of comfort was simply being alive for another sunrise.

There is something weirdly grounding about that. It reminds me of the way small inconveniences can take over my whole mood today. A lumpy pillow is suddenly a crisis. A slightly warm room becomes a personal attack. Meanwhile, the caveman version of me would have been thrilled to not be lying on sharp rocks or next to a bear.

When you think about it like that, the caveman question becomes a little lesson in perspective. Maybe not every discomfort requires a meltdown. Maybe not every imperfect moment needs to be fixed. Maybe the real pillow we need sometimes is the reminder that we can rest even when things aren’t ideal.

And maybe it’s fine to laugh a little at the whole thing too. Because imagining ancient humans negotiating with sticks, dirt, and handfuls of moss so they could get a halfway decent night of sleep is such a gentle reminder that comfort is a bonus, not a requirement.

So what do I think cavemen slept on. Probably whatever didn’t poke them in the ribs that night. And maybe that’s all any of us are trying to do anyway. Find a spot in the chaos that doesn’t jab us, settle in for a bit, and call it good enough.

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💬 Your Turn

So… what do you think cavemen slept on before pillows.

Share your answer in the comments or on social. Your weird little truth might be someone else’s comfort zone.