The Purple Mattress Competitor To Keep Your Eye On

A tranquil, full night of sleep isn’t just a luxury – it’s a critical part of our wellbeing. People who get the recommended eight hours of sleep wake up energized, refreshed, and ready to take on the day. Being well-rested promotes good mental and physical health.

Finding the right mattress can feel like a hit or miss, especially now that more people are buying their mattresses online than ever before. The bed-in-a-box market has been flooded with contenders for the title of #1 mattress.

One of those contenders is Purple. 

Purple mattresses are known for their GelFlex Grid. Their most popular mattress features this grid attached to the top of an innerspring mattress made of individually pocketed coils. It is popular with people who prefer hybrid mattresses. 

If you’re looking for an alternative to Purple but don’t know where to start, there’s a new kid on the block: the SONU Sleep System. 

What’s the SONU Sleep System?

SONU Sleep was founded by Stason Strong, an engineer and inventor, and Brad Hall, a business guru with a background in the medical field. The duo has worked together on numerous projects, but the SONU Sleep project is one of their most personal.

Strong and Hall noticed the effect a good night’s sleep had on their overall performance and lifestyle. They concluded that the only thing missing was a mattress that abandoned the traditional flat mattress design. People are not flat, so why are their mattresses?

The business partners conducted countless hours of research before producing their design of a mattress like no other. After multiple iterations and numerous sessions of product testing, Strong and Hall perfected what is now known as the SONU Sleep System.

What Are the Benefits of the SONU Sleep System?

The SONU Sleep System offers an experience that isn’t available anywhere else on the market. The SONU mattress, also known as the negative space mattress, allows sleepers to fully immerse into it.

The negative space mattress features the patented Comfort Channel and layered Support Pillow system. The bed molds to every sleeper’s shape and position, taking pressure off the neck and shoulders and aligning the spine. 

The Comfort Channel is ten inches deep, and the Support Pillows that fit into it were designed to support the upper torso and relieve pressure on the limbs.

The Channel has three outer walls attached to the foundation layer of the mattress. The side structures act as hand supports that reduce hand and wrist tension for sleepers when they hold smart devices or books in bed.

Each bed comes with a stack of two layers of SONU’s patented Support Pillows; two for the Twin XL and four for the Queen, King, and California King sizes. These pillows are laterally malleable by design to accommodate the space needed by arms and shoulders, while also supplying the right amount of vertical support for the head, neck and upper back.

What Is Sink-In Support?

Thanks to the Comfort Channel, SONU is the first and only mattress that allows your shoulders and arms to completely immerse into it. The mattress’s sink-in support system lets you experience full range of motion below the surface while simultaneously leveling your spine. 

No other mattress provides this type of balanced support.

The benefits of sink-in support include:

• Spine alignment
• Better breathing
• Leveled neck vertebrae
• Upper torso pressure relief
• Hip stability

The negative space mattress is the ideal mattress for side sleepers. With this bed, there’s no longer a need to constantly readjust or roll over in bed to relieve pressure on the upper body.

The upper torso is the heaviest part of the human body. The ability to immerse shoulders and arms into the negative space mattress reduces the amount of weight on these extremities, enabling a level of comfort unattainable on flat mattresses. 

In addition, the SONU Sleep System’s layers are adjustable. You can change the height that your head and neck rest on by adjusting the Support Pillows to your personal needs. 

Sleeping on the SONU mattress can help with chronic pain issues, like joint and muscle pain or injuries to the upper body. Snorers can also benefit from switching to the SONU — instead of sleeping on their backs, sleepers who snore can roll over to their sides, which helps reduce snoring.

How did the founders come up with the name? “SONU” is derived from the Portuguese word for slumber, “sono.” 

Stason initially envisioned the idea for the SONU Sleep System when he was in Brazil in 2014. Years later, Stason and Brad decided to name the company SONU as a nod to that moment in Brazil, replacing the “o” at the end of “sono” with a “u” to symbolize the shape of the Comfort Channel.

What Is the SONU Mattress Made From?

The negative space mattress includes 26 layers of top quality, high resilience foams. The top layer is entirely made of two inches of serene foam, a plush cooling material. 

The serene is also built into the base of the Comfort Channel and outer layers of the Support Pillows. This delivers a cool sleeping experience to every part of the body that touches the SONU.

Serene foam sleeps cooler than other types of foam, and it is made of billions of microscopic air capsules that maximize airflow. Sleeping on serene foam feels like a cloud is nestling you.

The negative space mattress is covered in a soft material that flows into the Comfort Channel; this channel waterfall provides you with a completely smooth sleeping experience free of seams.

The cover is made of 99% soft hand polyester fibers and 1% Spandex, creating a flexible material that perfectly fits the SONU’s unique shape. The material is durable, lightweight, and stain-resistant.  It will maintain its smooth, cool feeling for the life of the mattress. The cover comes in custom dual tones, and it is sewn with a classic diamond stitching pattern.

What Sizes Does the SONU Come In?

The negative space mattress comes in Twin XL, Queen, King, and California King sizes. 

A custom set of sheets made of 100% long-staple cotton with a 300 thread count is provided with each mattress, and the sheets perfectly fit the Comfort Channel. Each mattress also comes with four pillows that make up the layered Support Pillow system. 

How Can I Buy the SONU Sleep System?

You can purchase the SONU Sleep System, complete with the negative space mattress, custom sheets, and pillows on the SONU Sleep website. 

You can either pay for the mattress upfront or sign up for a monthly payment plan with Affirm. SONU currently allows customers to take up to 36 months to pay off their purchases via the Affirm payment plan.

The negative space mattress prices range from $2,699 for the twin XL to $4,399 for the California king. 

All mattress purchases come with an optional trial period of 100 days, so you can test out the SONU Sleep System before fully committing to it. However, if you opt-out of the trial period, you will receive up to $175 off your purchase.

Do you need to dispose of your old mattress but don’t have a way to do it? SONU can help. For an extra $125, SONU will remove your old mattress for you through logistics partner LoadUp.

How Do the SONU and the Purple Mattress Compare?

The SONU negative space mattress and the Purple mattress are both comfortable. They’re excellent options for people who want to transition away from the standard innerspring mattress.

The SONU is made of 26 layers of durable foam, with the top layer being made of serene foam. Purple’s most popular mattress is a hybrid mattress made of innerspring coils topped off with a gel grid. Even though both mattresses would be good investments, they cater to different sleepers.

Sleeping positions are unique to every person. Everyone requires different accommodations when they sleep. 

Below is a chart of the similarities and differences between the two mattresses:

The SONU and the Purple mattress can both be delivered to your door via FedEx. Their respective companies each accept all major credit cards, and they both offer payment plans via Affirm.

Both mattresses work on adjustable bed frames. The SONU is a thicker mattress than the Purple hybrid mattress, coming in at 14 inches thick. It is strong enough to support up to 700 lbs compared to Purple’s 600-lb weight limit. 

The SONU can provide dramatically more pressure relief than the Purple because of the negative space design and its ability to closely hug the body to mold to its shape.

What Do Customers Say About the SONU Sleep System?

Since SONU Sleep launched on February 15, 2022, the public response to the mattress has been overwhelmingly favorable. To date, the mattress has been reviewed as 4.9 out of 5 stars. 

Here’s what customers have had to say about the SONU:

• “This mattress is something else! Their site video had me intrigued. Now that I have the mattress, I’m speechless! Thank you for finally making a mattress that makes sleep enjoyable!” - Mark R., Portland, Oregon
• “After being a gymnast for 15 years, I haven’t felt this much relief from the pain in my shoulders and hips while sleeping. Thank you!” - Steph C., Yuma, Arizona
• “This Comfort Channel is next level! I never imagined that I would be able to put my arm in the mattress! Takes all the pressure off my shoulder!” - Kim J., Cape Coral, Florida
• “My girlfriend falls asleep on my arm every night and it is always a struggle to free it without waking her up! The SONU is [a] game changer! I can pull my [arm] out from under her without waking her!” - Terry, Scottsdale, Arizona
• “Being a former professional athlete, I have nagging shoulder issues. The SONU has allowed me to have the most comfortable sleep that I have had in years!” - Derek, Birmingham, Alabama

As you can see, these customers are very happy with their SONU mattresses. The SONU has only been on the market a short time, but it has already garnered fans for the long haul. 

Who Can Benefit the Most From the SONU Mattress?

The ability to experience pain-free sleep is a dream that countless people can’t imagine coming true. People that deal with pain in their daily lives can go for years, unable to find a mattress that doesn’t exacerbate their pain. The SONU mattress is for those people.

Something as simple as switching to the SONU Sleep System has the potential to change your sleep — and your entire life.

If you are tired of trying out mattress after mattress and not finding relief, SONU is here for you. Optimize your sleep experience. It’s time to enjoy a multi-layered mattress that has everything you could possibly need to sleep peacefully and without pain.

Conclusion

Standard mattresses fall short of what people need to start resting well. A typical mattress can make sleeping on your side very uncomfortable. The SONU mattress alleviates your arms and shoulders from bearing the weight of your upper body, eliminating your risk for sore, stiff, or numb extremities. 

The SONU solves the age-old issue of arm discomfort by incorporating the Comfort Channel. If you purchase a SONU, you won’t have to worry about tossing and turning around all night in an effort to get comfortable. 

Unlike the Purple mattress, the SONU will stabilize your body so that you don’t have to keep shifting to find a better sleep position.

The SONU Sleep System is an excellent alternative to the Purple mattress. The company is only in its infancy, but it’s set to transform the mattress business as we know it.

Want to know more about SONU Sleep and the SONU line of products? You can chat with a live agent if you head on over to sonusleep.com. Before you do that, check out our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page for answers to popular questions about SONU Sleep. 

FAQ

How firm is the SONU negative space mattress?

The mattress is medium-firm. Your body will sink into it slightly while it adapts to your body shape, but you will also feel support where you need it most.

Do I need a special bed frame for the SONU mattress?

The SONU mattress needs to be placed on a solid foundation like a box foundation or a platform bed. You can also place it on an adjustable bed frame if you are someone who likes to sit up in bed.

Can I use regular sheets with the SONU?

No. The SONU requires custom sheets that fit the Comfort Channel, and these are available for purchase. Each mattress you order will come with one set of sheets to get you started.

Can the SONU be shipped internationally?

At present, the SONU can only be delivered to the 48 contiguous United States.

Sources

Purple Mattress | Purple

Memory Foam vs. Serene Foam: What's the Difference? | Best Mattress Brand

Purple Hybrid Mattress Review | Sleep Foundation