WordSmarts: Where Did "Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bit" Come From?

Where did “sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” come from?

Well wishes for a good night’s sleep are a common refrain, but one in particular involves a pest infestation. There’s nothing restful about bedbugs, so where did this rhyme come from?




It’s important for your health to sleep well and recharge, and wishing someone a good night’s sleep is an act of common kindness. It’s such a natural habit that we’ve invented plenty of ways to send someone off to bed, including the standard “sleep well,” and the more playful “catch some Zs” and “hit the hay.”

My favorite way to tell someone good night is the classic rhyme from childhood: “Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” I grew up hearing this phrase, but like any other nursery rhyme, it has an origin story. Interestingly, it seems the three parts of this good-night wish have separate roots.

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