Sleepyhead Enters Its Next Chapter With First Mattress Launch and Expanded Commitment to Creating Comfort

A decade after starting in a college dorm room, Sleepyhead is growing into a broader sleep brand while extending its mission to communities in need

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sleepyhead, America's fastest-growing college sleep brand, recently announced a major new chapter in its growth with the launch of the Sleepyhead Mattress: First Edition, the company's first mattress and biggest product expansion since the launch of its Super Topper®.

The launch comes as Sleepyhead broadens the mission that has guided the company since its beginning: creating comfort when and where people need it. Alongside its product expansion, Sleepyhead is donating premium mattress toppers to families impacted by the recent earthquake in Venezuela through a humanitarian effort coordinated with WellUp Collective, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) and Red Stag Fulfillment. See how the relief shipment came together.

Together, the initiatives represent an evolution for a company that began by solving one very specific problem: no bad nights™.

Founded by Steven Van Alen after struggling to sleep on his own college mattress, Sleepyhead has spent the past decade helping more than 150,000 students and parents sleep better. As those customers graduate and move into apartments, homes and new stages of life, Sleepyhead is expanding alongside them.

"Ten years ago, I started Sleepyhead because I couldn't sleep on my own student mattress, and I knew other students felt the same," said Steven Van Alen, Founder and CEO of Sleepyhead. "What started as a solution for college students has become something much bigger. Our customers have grown up with us, and this next chapter is about continuing to create comfort wherever life takes them — whether that's a first apartment, a first home or helping someone who suddenly has no home at all."

From the dorm room to the first apartment

Built using a decade of customer feedback and product development, the Sleepyhead Mattress: First Edition brings the brand's approach to comfort into a premium cooling memory foam mattress designed for students, recent graduates, young professionals and modern sleepers.

The mattress combines advanced Super Foam® that is infused with cooling and copper technology with targeted support for the spine, back and hips. It is also antimicrobial, helps protect against common allergens and uses CertiPUR-US® certified foam.

For Sleepyhead, entering the mattress category represents more than a new product. It creates an opportunity for customers who first discovered the brand during college to continue with Sleepyhead as their sleep needs change.

Creating comfort where it's needed most

That same philosophy is also driving Sleepyhead's response to the humanitarian crisis following the earthquake in Venezuela.

Sleepyhead donated mattress toppers to help families displaced by the disaster who are currently sleeping in temporary shelters, community centers and other emergency accommodations.

The toppers are being transported from Sleepyhead's fulfillment center by Red Stag Fulfillment, which is donating logistics services to move the shipment to Global Empowerment Mission's humanitarian distribution hub in Miami. GEM will then coordinate international transportation and distribution to affected communities in Venezuela.

"Good sleep is something most of us take for granted until it's gone," Van Alen said. "When we learned families were sleeping in shelters, on concrete floors or anywhere they could find safety, we knew we could help in the most meaningful way we know how. If something we make can provide even a small measure of rest, dignity and comfort during an unimaginable time, that's exactly where it belongs."

"When Sleepyhead asked us to get a shipment of their mattress toppers to the relief hub in Miami so it could reach families in Venezuela who lost their homes, it was an easy yes," said Wally Shaw, Chief Executive Officer of Red Stag Fulfillment. "Moving big and heavy shipments is what we do every day. If the thing we're good at gets a little more comfort to people sleeping on floors and cots a little faster, that's worth doing."

The initiative builds on Sleepyhead's commitment to supporting communities through product donations, nonprofit partnerships and other charitable efforts as the company continues to grow.

A bigger vision for Sleepyhead

Sleepyhead's expansion into mattresses signals the beginning of a broader evolution from a brand known primarily for college mattress toppers into a sleep company designed to serve customers through more stages of their lives.

What is not changing is the idea that started the company: better rest can make difficult days a little easier.

"Sleepyhead started by making one uncomfortable dorm bed more comfortable," Van Alen said. "Ten years later, we have an opportunity to think much bigger about what creating comfort means and who we can create it for. That's the company we want to build over the next decade."

Customers can learn more about the Sleepyhead Mattress: First Edition and Sleepyhead's growing collection of sleep products at sleepyheadusa.com.

Those interested in supporting relief efforts for families affected by the Venezuela earthquake can learn more through Global Empowerment Mission's ongoing disaster relief initiatives.

About Sleepyhead: Sleepyhead is a modern sleep brand built around one simple idea: better sleep should be comfortable, accessible and designed for real life. Led by Founder and CEO Steven Van Alen, Sleepyhead is best known for its premium mattress toppers and leadership in the college sleep category. Today, the company is expanding its collection across mattresses and other sleep essentials, combining thoughtful product design, quality materials and a comfort-first approach to help people sleep better wherever life takes them.

Media Contact
RJ Carvis
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(847) 271-9301
https://www.sleepyheadusa.com/

SOURCE Sleepyhead