The first recorded use of the word "nightstand" was in 1852, though the word "night table" goes back as far as 1772. The nightstand's primary function was to contain the home's chamber pot, a portable toilet that people used when they had to relieve themselves during the night. Modern bedside tables are usually small, often with one or sometimes more drawers and/or shelves and less commonly with a small door and they are used to storage the things that you might need to use during the night (phone, medicine, sleeping mask, etc).