Kids need sleep to grow on
Was what your mother always told you true -- that if you don't go to bed and get enough sleep, you weren't going to grow up big and strong? Maybe she was right that kids mainly grow overnight when they sleep. A pediatrician has the cool details for you!
One mom's question:
Do kids do most of their growing when they are asleep?The expert answers:
Sleep is for more than just dreaming -- it's also essential for normal linear (height) growth, as well as for the growth and development of organs and tissues (heart, brain, muscles, etc.). Two major reasons account for this finding:- Growth hormone, a substance produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, stimulates growth of the body and its constituent parts. This hormone is secreted during sleep; and,
- Our body expends much less energy during sleep than when awake and active; thus, energy can be "diverted" from maintaining wakefulness and activity levels, to the function of growth.
Find out more about child growth and height!
About the author: 
Steven M Schwarz, MD, FAAP, FACN, a graduate of Yale College, served on the faculty of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1980-1984, and at New York Medical College from 1984-1985, where he was the recipient of the Charles H. Revson Foundation Career Scientist Award, and subsequently served both as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and as Director of the Graduate Program in Nutrition. In 1995, he was named Distinguished Lecturer in the Graduate School of Health Sciences at New York Medical College. In 1998, Dr Schwarz was listed in both New York Magazine's "Best Doctors in New York" issue and in the Castle Connolly NYC Metro Guide "How to Find the Best Doctors." In addition to his memberships in the Academy, the American Gastroenterological Association and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Dr Schwarz is chairman of pediatrics at Long Island College Hospital and is a senior member of The Society for Pediatric Research, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Pediatric Crohn’s and Colitis Association. He has published more than 100 original papers, abstracts and book chapters on a wide array of both basic research and clinical topics in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition.
Steven M Schwarz, MD, FAAP, FACN, a graduate of Yale College, served on the faculty of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1980-1984, and at New York Medical College from 1984-1985, where he was the recipient of the Charles H. Revson Foundation Career Scientist Award, and subsequently served both as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and as Director of the Graduate Program in Nutrition. In 1995, he was named Distinguished Lecturer in the Graduate School of Health Sciences at New York Medical College. In 1998, Dr Schwarz was listed in both New York Magazine's "Best Doctors in New York" issue and in the Castle Connolly NYC Metro Guide "How to Find the Best Doctors." In addition to his memberships in the Academy, the American Gastroenterological Association and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Dr Schwarz is chairman of pediatrics at Long Island College Hospital and is a senior member of The Society for Pediatric Research, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Pediatric Crohn’s and Colitis Association. He has published more than 100 original papers, abstracts and book chapters on a wide array of both basic research and clinical topics in pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition.For more about child health and wellness, click here.
