“There’s a real steep decline between 30 and 40.”

My 43-year-old CFO dropped that comment recently, wrapping up a discussion we were having about various post-sports aches and pains.

While this blog is about embracing 40s, there are a few undeniable changes for the worse. I’ve noticed this most recently as it relates to sleep. Even since eliminating snoring from my life, I have struggled to get physically comfortable, and have seen a lot of hours tick by on the clock. I just don’t sleep like I used to.

A couple of months ago, seeking some relief, I replaced all of my pillows with some of a far higher quality, and have started propping myself, a side sleeper, halfway up on one at night. (My son calls it my “Trump Wall.”)

This has helped, but it’s really only a band-aid solution, ’cause the problem is that I really need a new mattress.

The slab I sleep on is a solid 15 years old, and there’s a ravine in the middle, a la the Prairie Home Companion promo “Jack’s Deep Valley Bed.”

It’s also full of unspeakable stains.

It was time for a new bed.  More than time. And after some research, I settled on Purple.

I chose the classic Purple mattress as well as the Purple PowerBase, which is adjustable and features five different vibrating massage settings. In my old age, comfortable sleep is worth a lot.

As bonuses, I received $250 off, a free mattress cover and – voila! a free classic Purple Pillow.

The pillow arrived right away, while I’m still waiting on the bed proper.

My first impression upon unwrapping (actually, unrolling) the pillow was – oof! This is heavy! It has absolutely zero in common with a traditional filled pillow. It weighs nine pounds, and is square and narrow.

In the pillow package, Purple includes a tiny sample of its “patented comfort grid,” which is completely addictive to squish and stretch, and which my son has taken to throwing at me.

I flopped the pillow down on the couch and stretched back on it. It felt nice: cool, and with just the right amount of give. Fully alert, I tested the pillow out a number of different ways – propped, on my side, under my lower back.

Pound pound pound! Throughout the day, I felt compelled to set the Purple Pillow on my lap and pounded it like Tarzan’s chest. There was something therapeutic about the give and the tactile holey feel. I really liked it, and I found myself giving it a squeeze every time I walked past.

So this is all promising, but what about the sleep test? The first night, I crashed HARD, though there’s one caveat – the pillow lacks height, and required a flat-ish pillow underneath it to get the loft needed to align the neck properly.

Overall, I tentatively RECOMMEND the Purple Pillow. I’ll let you know how the mattress performs!