Princess themes, race car beds, cosmic night lights, and stuffy plush toys are some of the many bedroom accents parents use to create a more comfortable and appealing space for their children to sleep so it’s easy to see these as the best twin mattress for kids. And let’s face it: bedtime can be challenging even for the most experienced parents.
Without tactfully ‘distracting them to sleep’ with a tablet or TV show, what do you do when your kids do not wind down or stay asleep?
Bedtime routines like picking out pajamas, brushing their teeth, and watching favorite shows help kids prepare for sleep, but does it help boost their potential to achieve the best sleep possible?
Having a twin mattress that provides the most support and comfort is not often the focus. Could that be because comfort is generally easy to achieve when it comes to kids? We’ve all heard it said, “Kids can sleep on anything.” But should we really overlook how comfortably our children sleep to the extent that it hinders their ability for real, restorative sleep? Even when parents have an affordable new mattress in their budgets, many kids end up with hand-me-down twin mattresses with little or no comfort nor sufficient support for a child’s growing body.
Priorities surrounding sufficient exercise, proper nutrition, and consistent education are often at the forefront of good parenting. Parents, more than ever before, are focusing on raising healthy kids and doing all things possible to impact our mini-me’s and future-makers positively. Mental health included. Rightfully so, a well-rounded importance is placed on a child’s physical and mental health, but it is a surprise that comfortability for a kid’s mattress still takes a backseat.
You may ask yourself why sufficient sleep is a general focus for grown people but not usually for kids.
This – and which twin mattress is best for kids – is a great question, especially considering children need more sleep than adults, and sleep is more essential to growth and development the younger we are. School-age children (ages 6 to 12) need 9 to 12 hours of sleep daily. Toddlers require about 14 hours, and infants up to 16 hours daily for the utmost healing, growth, and development. Yet, about half of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 aren’t getting enough sleep.
Kids who experience good sleep quality and proper sleep duration often perform better academically and are in healthier physical shape.
These kids tend to be more motivated during school projects and participate more in sports or games after school. Dare we say it? They tend to feel better and have a better attitude! This is a huge win for everyone.
Many things happen while we sleep. As parents, we may be worried about our ability to get them asleep in bed. Staying asleep to reach restorative sleep is crucial for kids. When we sleep, hormones are released that rejuvenate and replenish. For kids, the human growth hormone is produced and released, which is also why most of a child’s physical growth occurs during sleep. Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep, allows for optimum beneficial hormone release, making a child’s duration and quality of sleep a crucial part of their physical growth and cognitive development.
Kids who don’t get enough sleep tend to struggle with ‘childhood flourishment’, also described as the child’s positive sense of self and ability to function both socially and psychologically. Curiosity, managing emotions, thoughtfulness about learning, and task completion are all aspects that correlate with childhood flourishment. With significant links between sleep, cognitive function, and our mental outlook, it is apparent that good quality sleep matters, and it affects not only our mental health but our children as well.
In a sleep study by Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 8,000 kids between the ages of 8 and 9 years old were studied to research the neurological outcomes of sleep deprivation among children. Of the 8,000 in the study, the children who were sleep deprived (who slept less than 8 or 9 hours) had more behavioral issues than their peers who had slept more than 8 or 9 hours. The kids who slept fewer than 8 or 9 hours also had a much higher risk of depression, anxiety, and aggressive behaviors.
In most cases, if sleep deprivation reserves an unwanted role, life’s day-to-day struggles for the child and the parents come along with it. A child is unlikely to flourish without deep sleep and a consistent routine to help them relax appropriately to prepare for sleep. A child’s ability to heal, learn, remember, and socially interact is heavily influenced by deep sleep. Chances are, if your child isn’t sleeping well, some obvious red flags are telling you so.
Because kids don’t tend to value their mattresses quite yet, and parents don’t always want to invest in a kid’s mattress, this useful development tool often goes by the wayside. But one of the most important things you can buy to help kids be their best selves is the mattress they sleep on. How well your child sleeps depends on the comfort of the mattress, bedding, and pillows they use. And how these products are helpful to their individual nuances, like sleeping hot or tossing and turning, will influence their overall ability to sleep well.
Nighttime routines like picking out pajamas, stuffed toys to cuddle with, or which story to read are usually the focus of a child’s bedtime routine. In reality, these things are distractors that minimally affect their ability to get the healthy sleep they need. Choosing a the best twin mattress for your child to sleep on throughout childhood will significantly impact their ability to blossom. Though it is often not at the forefront of our minds when it comes to sleeping well, the needs of children are similar to those of adults. Kids also need support and pressure relief, similar to the needs of a grown adult experiencing back pain.
Sleep is a miraculous process that restores and rejuvenates a child’s developing body; sleep is just as crucial to a child as to an adult attempting to heal from an injury.
Kids usually weigh less than adults, so comfort may be easier to achieve. However, the needs of adults and children are intuitive to the individual’s preferences, like whether they get hot or cold or experience any pain or discomfort. A personalized bedtime routine free from distractions and a cozy, comfortable twin mattress that provides proper alignment are essential for your child’s overall development.
Come check out our carefully curated selection of twin mattresses for kids, including the best of the best, like these top picks available at one of the 25 Mattress World Northwest locations near you.
The Serta Perfect Sleeper Blue Lagoon Medium is our pick for the best overall mattress for kids. It provides:
The Perfect Sleeper Blue Lagoon wins overall for its versatile medium feel, which is suitable for side, back, and stomach sleepers of all body types. Visit your local Mattress World Northwest location to try it in person.
Experts pick the Southerland Hathaway Collection Ashland for kids. Benefits include:
The best clean mattress for kids goes to the King Koil Natural Oswego. It includes:
Best pure and clean goes to King Koil Naturals Oswego mattress, which boasts natural materials that pass the Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX Class 1 Certification, a strict level of testing to ensure materials are harmless to human health.
The best bed-in-a-box goes to the Purple Restore Hybrid with its:
Bedtech Gel Comfort 12’’ twin mattress is best for your little side sleepers:
Bedtech Gel Comfort takes the cake for best for side-sleeping kids due to its soft, cozy feel, chemical-free fire retardant barrier, and removable zip-off cover.
For back sleepers, we recommend the Nectar Premier Hybrid with:
The best for back sleepers is presented to the Nectar Premier Hybrid for its Forever warranty and amplified back support from the Infinity coil system.
There’s no doubt that your child is the most important thing in your life. And the quality of the twin mattress and bedding that supports them at night is of utmost importance to their health now and in the future. Wind-down routines like reading bedtime stories help form memorable bonding experiences and deserve to be a repeatable part of parenting practices, but it is also time to deliver a simple, positive influence that, for kids, is often overlooked. For our children, products like a high-quality twin mattress and accessories like pillows and bedding are of absolute importance to the quality of sleep necessary for healthy evolution from adolescence to adulthood.
Mattress World Northwest is your locally owned, kid-friendly sleep shop. We are delighted to provide expert service with the best selection of twin mattresses for kids available in the Portland metro area. Come check out the skillfully curated selection of budget-friendly and best-in-class twin mattresses. If you’re in the Portland metro area, we have a location right around the corner from you so that you can see, feel, and try the absolute best selection of kids’ mattresses. This expert selection of twin mattresses for kids is only available at the local Mattress World Northwest location near you.
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While you can't go wrong with any of our mattresses, here are a few factors you'll want to consider before making a purchase: your sleep position (and if you have a partner, theirs as well), the size of the space, and a price point. If you have any questions, rest easy knowing that our team is happy to help you find that perfect fit.
| Size | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Twin | 38″ wide x 75″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| Twin XL | 38″ wide x 80″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| Full | 54″ wide x 75″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| Queen | 60″ wide x 80″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| King | 76″ wide x 80″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| Cal King | 72″ wide x 84″ long x 9.25″ tall |
| Split King (2pk) | 38″ wide x 80″ long x 9.25″ tall |
Mattress World Northwest makes it easy to choose the right foundation for your space and lifestyle.
Reliable support for your boxspring and mattress.
