I recently saw a discussion on social media about whether people grew up in sleep-supportive or non-sleep-supportive households.
For example, a sleep-supportive household is one where parents encourage rest and don’t make children feel guilty for sleeping in. By contrast, non-sleep-supportive households tend to equate rest with laziness; naps are frowned upon, or children are made to adhere to rigid schedules that don’t allow for adjustments based on daily life. If you think back to your own childhood while reading this, I’m sure you immediately know which kind of home you grew up in.
I’m happy to say that I grew up in a sleep-supportive household. If I slept in on a Saturday morning, my mom would wait for me to rise and just say, “Your body must have needed it.” If there wasn’t a specific reason to be awake early in our house, then by all means, get your rest. Perhaps that was a bit of foreshadowing to my future career in the bedding industry. I know and value the importance of good rest. To this day, there’s no bigger luxury to me than being able to sleep in on the weekend.
However, no matter which kind of household we grew up in, as adults, we’ve grown to learn the importance of a good night’s sleep. The National Sleep Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, recently released its 2026 Sleep in America poll, which has covered various sleep-related topics since 1991. For 2026, the poll focused on the sleep health of American youth, children ages 0 to 13. The results? American youth have a sleep problem.
The study revealed 95% of people agree that good sleep is essential to overall family functioning. However, nearly half of parents “rarely or never talk with their children about the importance of sleep.” Yet four in five parents said that their own sleep suffers when their child — or children — sleep poorly.
Other key findings were that nearly seven in 10 parents said poor sleep negatively affects their child’s mood and daytime functioning, while 86% reported that good sleep improves behavior and mood. According to the parents surveyed, 44% of children do not consistently get the recommended amount of sleep for their age, with younger children being more likely to fall short.
“Sleep plays a huge role in how kids grow, recover and show up the next day, whether that’s in school, sports or everyday life,” said Eugene Alletto, founder and CEO of Bedgear. “As a parent, you want to give your child every advantage you can, and good sleep is a big part of that. For us, it has always come back to the idea that the sleep environment matters. Kids deal with the same challenges adults do, like overheating, poor support and restless nights, and those things can affect how they feel and function the next day.”
The Sleep in America poll also found that 60% of parents would be willing to pay for their children to get better sleep, including spending $50, $100 or more. If you’re a retailer who doesn’t currently offer children-focused bedding products in your merchandising mix, it might be time to reconsider.
“For retailers, the kids category is an opportunity to support the whole family,” Alletto added. “When parents experience the difference that the right mattress and sleep products can make for their own sleep, they naturally start thinking about their kids’ sleep, too. Helping families solve those problems earlier is good for the customer and good for the industry.”
To read the full findings from the 2026 Sleep in America poll, visit thensf.org.
