At 5 Little Monkeys, our mission is to help kids everywhere experience the life-changing magic of truly healthy, restful sleep. That's why we built what might be the best mattress for kids on the market, specifically designed to give growing bodies what they need for healthy sleep. As parents ourselves, we've seen firsthand the impact that great sleep can make – but a growing body of research is showing that sleep has a dramatic impact on virtually every aspect of a child's health, including their growth.

How Sleep Affects Growth

Many parents would swear their child got bigger after certain nights of sleep. And according to medical research, there may be a scientific basis for this.

Children's bodies secrete growth hormones primarily during the deepest phases of sleep, which means healthy, sufficient sleep is vital to the growth process. Infants spend roughly 50% of their time in this deep sleep, which may be part of how they're able to grow as rapidly as they do. Fundamentally, sleep is one of the most important parts of a child's body's growth process, which means proper sleep is inherently linked to normal growth and development.

But the effects of sleep on growth go beyond that. Sleep also impacts growth and development in more indirect ways. Studies show that not getting enough sleep can cause kids to become overweight, and this process may even start as early as infancy. This may partially be because lack of sleep interferes with the production of the hormone leptin, which signals to the brain to stop eating. Tired children may not produce this hormone normally, causing them to continue eating even when they no longer need to.

Test Out Our Highly-Reviewed Children's Mattress

From the very first day of your child's life, their sleep schedule has a profound effect on their growth, health, and development – which means it's critical to ensure your child gets the best sleep possible. Your child's mattress is an important part of that, which is why we created a kids bed purpose-built to support growing bodies for healthy sleep. Want to learn more about how the right mattress can impact sleep? Contact us today!