Sleep Number and NFL Quarterback Trey Lance present new Sleep Number bed to military family

Elisiva Maka needs her sleep. The California-based mother of two small children not only runs her own business, but she is also training for a new career in tech, and she has a husband on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

So when Maka found out she'd won a king-size Sleep Number 360^® smart bed, she was ecstatic.

“I was speechless," she says. “I was also very grateful. This is a gift we'll remember for years to come."

Sleep Number teamed up with the nonprofit Blue Star Families and professional football player Trey Lance to give Maka and her family the bed to honor their service to the country.

It was Lance, a rookie NFL quarterback, who presented the bed to the family. NFL players across the country participated in the Sleep Number^® bed giveaway as part of the league's November Salute to Service and Military Family Appreciation Month.

Maka and her husband, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Keola Suapaia, a parachute rigger stationed at Moffett Field, moved to San Jose, California, two years ago from Anchorage, Alaska, where Suapaia was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

In addition to the bed, the couple and their children, Kaden Maka, 4, and Keanu Suapaia, 1, received autographed footballs and shirts from Lance.

From Tea to Tech

Maka certainly knows how to keep busy. She started her own company, Kavaia Tea, in 2019. She blends kava root from her native Tonga into herbal tea and sells it online at her company's website and through Amazon . “Calmness in a cup" is the company's motto.

Her ambitions go beyond running a small business. Maka was a Microsoft Fellow with the Female Founder School last year, where she worked with a group of female entrepreneurs to hone her business skills.

She's currently enrolled in a program sponsored by NPower that provides job training to military spouses. Her goal is to work in cyber security, with the tea company as her side gig.

Maka says the Sleep Number 360^® smart bed will help her family get the rest they need to keep up with their active lives.

“I run our 4-year-old to preschool in the mornings, I spend mornings preparing for my afternoon training program, and my husband works a physically demanding job," Maka says. “He needs proper rest to perform his duties diligently."

Sleep Number Partners with Military Nonprofit Blue Star Families

For seven years, Sleep Number has teamed up with nonprofit Blue Star Families to give high-quality Sleep Number^® mattresses to military families. The organization offers programs and resources that have helped more than one million military families.

"Our mission is to help improve lives through individualized sleep experiences, and the military community is really important to us," said Sleep Number Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Brown. "By pairing our partnerships with Blue Star Families and the NFL, we've been able to do a lot of these events to give the gift of quality sleep to many families across the country."

In 2021, Sleep Number has offered sleep education tips for Blue Star Families and ran a sweepstakes where one person had the chance to win a Sleep Number 360^® smart bed.

Sleep is a critical component of good health, and it is something many military families struggle with: 57% of military families reported that their child had experienced separation anxiety, worry, and/or sleeping problems as a result of the service member's deployment, according to Blue Star Families' 2018 Military Family Lifestyle Survey.

Sleep Number continues to help other military families get better sleep. Like this Minnesota bedroom makeover with the Minnesota Vikings. And this family surprise in partnership with the Dallas Cowboys.

Like diet and exercise, quality sleep has a profound impact on your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Because no two people sleep the same, Sleep Number 360^® smart beds, with SleepIQ^® technology, sense your movements and automatically adjust firmness, comfort and support to keep you both sleeping comfortably and provide proven quality sleep. Find your Sleep Number^® setting for your best possible night's sleep, and if you own a Sleep Number^® bed, log in to your InnerCircle℠ Rewards account to see your exclusive offers, refer friends and more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leanne Potts is an editor, content strategist and award-winning writer. Her work has appeared in HGTV.com, DIYNetwork.com, Travel Channel.com, Gardenista, AARP, Sunset magazine, Chicago Tribune and Slate.