Eight Sleep Mattress Review: My Quality of Sleep Has Improved, Thanks to This Cooling Mattress (2024)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35% of the world’s population is sleep-deprived—myself included. I may very well be one of the world’s worst sleepers. I struggle with night sweats, falling asleep and staying asleep. When I heard about the Eight Sleep mattress, I had to try it. It regulates and improves sleep, dynamically warming or cooling the left and right sides of the mattress based on sleep health metrics and the external environment.

The smart Autopilot technology controls the mattress and cools and warms the pod as your body temperature fluctuates throughout the night. It matches your body’s natural rhythm, extending deep sleep. The Eight Sleep mattress has a cult following, backed by Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Rogan, neuroscientists, doctors, athletes, F1 stars and various celebrities. It claims to increase deep sleep by up to 34%, sleep quality by up to 32% and recovery by up to 19%.

What is the Eight Sleep mattress?

The Eight Sleep mattress comes with a Pod 3 cover and hub. A mattress can be purchased separately in a discounted bundle. The Eight Sleep Pod 3 is a thick, elasticized mattress cover with rubber tubing inside and a soft black material on the top. The Pod 3 cover has an active grid containing sensors that remove heat from your bed. The hub resembles an old desktop PC and connects to the cover via a double tube. The hub contains a quad-core central processing unit (CPU), and chilled or heated water flows from the hub through the mattress cover to regulate the pod’s temperature. The hub also connects to the Eight Sleep phone app.

The Eight Sleep mattress operates via smart Autopilot software, learning your sleep needs and monitoring disturbances in your sleep environment. The technology creates an individual sleep blueprint based on your preferred sleeping temperature, biological sex, REM sleep score, current sleep stages, age and environmental temperature to determine your sleep needs.

Autopilot acts as a personal sleep coach, automatically adjusting mattress temperature throughout the night according to your external environment and personal sleep needs. Biometric sensors in the pod cover inform the Autopilot program of chest vibrations, heartbeats and breathing patterns to calculate health metrics and sleep stages. Presence sensors inform Autopilot if you’re occupying your side of the pod. Environmental sensors reveal room temperature and humidity levels.

Autopilot tracks sleep and health for up to two people at once, running algorithms from intel gathered from the pod that details time spent in deep sleep, REM sleep, light sleep, the time you slept, the time you fell asleep, times you got in and out of bed, snoring detection, heart rate variability, resting heart rate and respiratory rate. Over time, Autopilot learns more, continuously updating your custom sleep profile and making necessary changes. Throughout the night, Autopilot makes real-time adjustments to create a deeper sleep. Naturally, a human’s body temperature shifts throughout the night. At every point in the night, Autopilot can determine your optimal sleep temperature and adjust on the fly with zero manual effort.

Autopilot serves a gentler wake-up alarm via subtle vibrations and thermal alarms. You can rise at a different time than your partner without disturbing them. Autopilot delivers daily sleep progress reports containing sleep and health data in the Eight Sleep phone app. Receive an overview of your sleep and health with every pod sleep. Autopilot stores sleep reports over time, so you can always look back on prior nights of sleep and view historical health trends.

Eight Sleep mattress features

Daria Smith/RD.com

Pod 3 cover and hub

The Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover comes in four sizes: full, queen, king and California king. Each Pod 3 cover fits mattresses 10 to 16 inches thick.

Autopilot

Autopilot is Eight Sleep’s intelligent sleep system that powers the pod, controlled via the Eight Sleep phone app. It enhances your nightly sleep experience and gets smarter over time, learning about your sleep history, preferences and other external factors that influence your sleep environment. The Autopilot service includes automatic temperature adjustments throughout the night, detailed sleep and health reports (including sleep time, sleep phases, heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate and respiratory rate), vibration and thermal alarms, snoring detection and bi-annual maintenance filter delivery.

The Eight Sleep pod uses Autopilot to optimize sleep stages by automatically adjusting bed temperature throughout the night. Humans often sleep poorly when their bodies don’t maintain optimal temperatures throughout the full sleep cycle. Autopilot attempts to mimic your body’s circadian rhythm and temperature needs for each sleep stage, thus improving deep sleep and REM sleep.

Autopilot covers two separate users per pod, divided by your bed’s left and right sides. I’ve found this function especially useful, as my boyfriend and I sleep at different temperatures and wake at different times. We each have the Eight Sleep app on our individual phones for separate temperature and alarm adjustments. The Eight Sleep phone app lets you view ongoing insights detailing your sleep progress and tips to improve your sleep fitness. Each morning, you’ll receive personalized sleep and health reports analyzing how you slept and the automatic adjustments the pod made.

Athletes also enjoy the Eight Sleep mattress for its recovery features. It monitors heart rate, respiration and movement and regulates body temperature to improve sleep, which aids recovery and fitness. Autopilot is required for the first year with the purchase of an Eight Sleep pod and is billed at $180 annually with a two-year warranty or $288 with a five-year warranty.

Mattress

Eight Sleep mattress’s queen size measures 60 inches by 80 inches. Five layers of pressure-relieving materials stack to an 11-inch height. The layers consist of a 1-inch airflow top layer, 1-inch cooling gel layer, 1-inch tranquility transition foam, 4-inch FlexSpring technology core and a 4-inch durable base. The Eight Sleep mattress has medium firmness and is designed to support the spine and enhance airflow for cooler sleep. The active grid really gives the Eight Sleep mattress its firmness. This mattress is made to be used with the cover.

How I tested it

Daria Smith/RD.com

I selected the queen-size Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover and hub and a five-layer mattress with an enhanced Autopilot plan. The cover and hub arrived in two separate boxes, and a third containing the mattress. Over the past two months, I’ve slept 480 hours on the Eight Sleep mattress.

The Pod 3 cover zips around the Eight Sleep mattress. The bottom part of the cover lies under the mattress, and the upper piece lies on top of the mattress. Once all tubes were situated at the head of the bed, I zipped the upper cover onto the lower cover all the way around.

Keep in mind that the hub must be placed near an outlet. The water tubes attach to the hub, and the USB plugs in. Connecting the Eight Sleep app to Wi-Fi takes five minutes, as the app guides you through the process step by step. When first setting up, the Pod 3 must be filled with water, a process called priming, in which water fills the mat and pushes out any air bubbles to ensure the pod runs smoothly. I filled it with filtered water and a few tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. A plastic cylinder rests inside the hub with a clear fill line, and it must be filled a few times and takes 90 minutes each cycle. I recommend beginning the setup and installation a few hours before bedtime. All in all, the entire setup took around three to four hours. Note you must repeat this process every few months for maintenance, filling it with water and 3% hydrogen peroxide every two to three months. If you don’t keep up with maintenance, the hub may stop working or grow bacteria in the pod’s water tubes. I wish Eight Sleep stated this more explicitly on its website.

I can’t get over the Eight Sleep mattress, which allows my partner and I to sleep in the same bed at different temperatures. The cover has two distinct sides, and we both have the Eight Sleep app installed on our phones. I had difficulty falling asleep on the first night, as I’m used to a soft, cushiony mattress that I “sink” into. The Eight Sleep mattress is medium-firm, and I can feel the cover upon attempting a good night’s sleep. Over time, I’ve adjusted to the mattress, and my sleep score has drastically improved from the first night. However, I wish the Eight Sleep mattress were softer.

I placed my 2-inch-thick Nolah plush mattress topper on top of my 11-inch-thick Eight Sleep mattress, inside the Pod 3 cover. The Pod 3 cover fits mattresses ranging from 10 to 16 inches thick. I’m in the clear since the mattress and topper stack to 13 inches thick. This made my Eight Sleep mattress less firm and increased comfort. Paired with my Cozy Earth comforter, I sleep in cool luxury.

Daria Smith/RD.com

Eight Sleep’s Autopilot service features vibration and thermal alarms. I always have difficulty waking up to my phone alarm and consistently snooze it, with alarms set at 15-minute intervals. However, I wake up immediately with the alarms triggered by thermal and vibration cues. Alarms can only be snoozed on your phone in the app.

Initially, my sleep scores fluctuated after each night, but the Autopilot software learns your sleep habits over time. Autopilot recommends temperatures for different sleep phases, but they can be adjusted manually in the app. By automatically changing the mattress temperature based on your body temperature and room temperature, the Pod 3 cover makes it easier to sleep through the night.

My Eight Sleep mattress is set to cool each night before I get in bed. It kicks on about half an hour before my scheduled bedtime, and it’s set to a schedule based on my bedtime and morning wake-up alarm. I’ve also adjusted my mattress temperature on the go while driving home from a workout. The Eight Sleep pod runs even when you’re away from home, however, you can turn it off in the app while traveling. If a morning alarm isn’t set, the hub must be turned off manually in the app.

Eight Sleep claims you can save up to $20 monthly on your energy bills by using your AC and heat less with the pod’s Autopilot automatic temperature adjustment feature. Last night, my AC went out in the summer heat, and the Eight Sleep mattress saved the day. I cranked my mattress to -10. Otherwise, I would’ve booked a hotel room or stayed with a friend. Far too many times, I wake up feeling unrested from my night’s sleep. Eight Sleep’s tailored health and sleep reports detect if I slept right after a workout or consumed alcohol the night before.

The Eight Sleep hub resembles a clunky PC desktop and is difficult to hide. As someone who appreciates a nice aesthetic, I don’t love this. I receive a notification to refill the hub water tank about every three to four weeks. This process takes 90 minutes. The hub operates with considerable noise, no louder than white noise. However, I sleep with a rainstorm from Spotify, so I don’t mind. I’ve had a seamless experience with Eight Sleep’s iPhone app, but have read in other reviews that the Android app is glitchy. One last thing to consider is that the Autopilot subscription is required and expensive.

Pros

• Automatically regulates temperature
• Accurately tracks sleep and health
• Tracks time slept, wake-ups, time in REM sleep and time in deep sleep
• Tracks heart rate, HRV and breathing rate
• Dual climate control for two sleep partners
• Silent alarm triggered by vibration and thermal cues
• In-app sleep and health reports with detailed data
• Deep pockets on Pod 3 cover fit mattresses 10 to 16 inches thick
• 30-night risk-free trial
• Free shipping and free returns

Cons

• Not ideal for sleepers who like a plush mattress
• Hub is clunky like a desktop PC and difficult to hide
• Hub operates at a white noise level, which isn’t ideal for all

FAQ

How much is an Eight Sleep mattress?

Depending on size selection, the Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover and hub cost $2,195 to $2,495. The monthly subscription is $180 or $288 annually. Optional Eight Sleep mattresses run $1,425 to $1,825. With these elements, packages range from $3,800 to $4,608. Minus the mattress, you’re looking at $2,375 to $2,783.

Is Eight Sleep noisy?

The Eight Sleep mattress makes about as much noise as a white noise machine. Most nights, I find it easy to fall asleep with the noise.

What does an Eight Sleep mattress come with?

The Eight Sleep Pod 3 comes with a cover and hub, and the Autopilot subscription is required for the first year but costs extra. Mattresses can also be purchased separately.

What other reviewers had to say

As I mentioned, this mattress has a large following, including doctors and celebrities. But here’s what other real people have to say in their Eight Sleep mattress reviews:

Jamie from Florida, a reviewer on Eight Sleep’s website, says, “A few months ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and experienced symptoms from treatment (hot flashes and night sweats). This product is a game changer for me, and this should be considered a device for durable medical equipment.”

“The ability to actively monitor your sleep metrics and correlate those to periods of overtraining or even sickness has helped me identify when to give my body rest. Eight Sleep has been one of the best investments I’ve made for my well-being,” writes Justin from Texas.

“Seven to eight hours usually. Really dialed in my sleep with Eight Sleep,” Mark Zuckerburg tweeted regarding his sleep schedule.

Product comparison: Pod 3 vs. Pod 4 vs. Pod 4 Ultra

While the Eight Sleep mattress is unique, several bed cooling systems are on the market. (The BedJet is another crowd-favorite cooling system.) I reviewed the Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover and hub with the queen-size five-layer mattress. However, Eight Sleep recently released a Pod 4 cover and hub and Pod 4 Ultra cover, hub and base.

The Eight Sleep Pod 3 offers automatic temperature, dual climate control, vibration and thermal alarms, sleep and health reports, snoring detection and clinical-grade sleep and health tracking. The upgraded Eight Sleep Pod 4 cover is crafted with contouring materials, making it 20% thinner than the Pod 3 cover. It also claims to maintain the same comfort as your mattress, so the Pod 4 cover is virtually undetectable. The Pod 4 hub and cover were redesigned, doubling the Pod’s cooling abilities. It runs silently at 30 decibels (dB), which is 40% quieter than the Pod 3. The Pod 4 also has a feature that allows you to operate it without a phone—tap the zones on either side of the pod to adjust temperature and elevation. You can also silence alarms by tapping the side of the mattress.

The Pod 3 allows temperature adjustments ranging from -10 to 10. However, the upgraded Pod 4 cools to 55 degrees and heats up to 110 degrees. The Pod 4 Ultra comes with a cover and hub, like the Pod 3 and 4, and a base. It boasts Pod 4 features and additional benefits, including snoring detection and mitigation and custom elevations for sleeping, reading and relaxing.

To recap, new features offered with the Eight Sleep Pod 4 and Pod 4 Ultra include a dynamic contouring surface, additional comfort, double the cooling power, silent performance, control without a phone, snoring detection and mitigation and custom elevations for sleeping, reading and relaxing.

Final verdict

Daria Smith/RD.com

My sleep scores and quality of sleep have increased significantly over the past few months, thanks to the Eight Sleep Pod 3. I can easily view my sleep quality rating, which evaluates my sleep stages based on heart rate, breathing rate and heart rate variability, in the app. It also picks apart my sleep routine, observing my bedtime, wake-up time and sleep latency. Sleep quantity is assessed in hours and minutes. All of these factors calculate my overall sleep fitness score. The Eight Sleep app effectively tracks my sleep and overall health.

The Eight Sleep mattress made it easier for me to fall asleep and remain asleep in deep sleep and REM stages. My boyfriend’s sleep profile looks very different from mine, but we’ve both seen success with the Pod 3 cover. When I travel and sleep in hotels, I miss my cool bed. My favorite features of the Eight Sleep mattress are the automatic temperature adjustment, subtle vibrating alarm and dual temperature control for two individuals.

Two of my main concerns with the Eight Sleep Pod 3 are the loud performance and lack of comfort. I like a soft mattress that I can “sink” into. However, the Eight Sleep Pod 4 addresses both of these issues, so I’d be intrigued to test this model to see if my problems were solved.

Where to buy the Eight Sleep mattress

The Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover and hub retail from $2,195 to $2,495 on Eight Sleep’s website, depending on size selection (full, queen, king or California king). Eight Sleep mattresses range from $1,425 to $1,825. The standard Autopilot service is $180 annually, and the enhanced Autopilot service is $288 annually. The only difference between the two Autopilot service plans is an extended five-year warranty and $108.

I have the Eight Sleep Pod 3 cover and hub ($2,295) with the queen-size, five-layer mattress ($1,625) and enhanced Autopilot plan ($288 annually), which totals $4,008 after bundle discounts.

Note that the Eight Sleep mattress takes roughly a month to ship, depending on the demand for orders. Eight Sleep offers a 30-night risk-free trial, free shipping and free returns. If you’re unsatisfied, return the Eight Sleep pod within 30 days of delivery for a full refund on the pod and Autopilot membership.

Eight Sleep’s standard warranty lasts two years, so long as you purchase directly from Eight Sleep and have an active membership. The extended warranty lasts for five years under the same circ*mstances, but you must be an active member of the Enhanced Autopilot plan.

It’s also worth noting that you don’t have to pay for another Autopilot subscription if you’d like to upgrade your pod to a newer model. You can purchase via the Eight Sleep app or email [emailprotected].