Sleep plays a vital role in a person’s health and well being. The quality of sleep that we get each night has an effect on our mental, physical, emotional and overall health. Sleep deprivation, and even sleeping too much, has been linked to a number of health risks and it is something that we shouldn't take for granted.
Build Good Sleeping Habits
There are a number of things that you can do to have that quality sleep that you need. The first thing that you should work on is building good sleeping habits. This includes having regular exercise, sticking to a regular sleep schedule, no TV or any other electronic gadgets at least two hours before your bedtime, avoiding alcohol, caffeine and heavy meals in the evening and creating an evening ritual that will put you in a relaxed state.

Minimize or Eliminate Distractions
Your environment also plays an important part on the quality of your sleep. Make sure that you have a room that is conducive to a good night’s sleep. Minimize or eliminate distractions. The buzzing that your phone makes every time you have new notifications or emails will certainly be a huge distraction so make sure you turn it off or lower its volume. It is also important that you sleep in a comfortable bed. Since most of us spend a great fraction of our time each day sleeping, it is only proper that we invest in quality bed, mattress, pillows and bed sheets. They will help us improve the quality of sleep that we get each night and help us feel rejuvenated when wake up.

Stick to Your Regular Schedule
Sticking to a regular sleeping schedule may take time and there can be a number of factors that can affect it including time changes such as Daylight Savings Time. While some may say that an hour does not really make a huge difference, Daylight Savings Time can still affect one’s body clock and sleeping habit. There are, however, certain things that you can do to help you handle the time change easily. You can start by waking up an hour early than usual a couple of days before the DST switch. You can also adjust your kids’ bedtime so that they still get the amount of sleep that they need and not end up waking cranky or tired the next day.

Do you know that 58% percent of people wish they knew more about how to improve the quality of their sleep, yet only 16% actually monitor their sleep (versus 41% who track exercise and 43% who track diet). And, women are more likely to focus on improving their sleep compared to men. Sleep Number’s SleepIQ technology offers a simple solution to those who want to know better sleep.

If you continue on focusing more on practices and habits that will help improve the quality of your sleep, then you will surely gain the many health benefits that a good night’s sleep offers and drastically boost your overall health.

So don't forget to mark your calendar–Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 8. This year, don’t walk around like a zombie. With tips from the savvy sleepers at Sleep Number, you won’t miss a beat.

This post is sponsored by Sleep Number.