I have thought of a pulley to raise me gradually; but that would give me pain, as it would counteract my natural inclination. I would have something that can dissipate the inertia and give elasticity to the muscles. We can heat the body, we can cool it; we can give it tension or relaxation; and surely it is possible to bring it into a state in which rising from bed will not be a pain.
James Boswell, Samuel Johnson (1888). “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Together with A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”