Technology is optimizing every part of our lives. Why not use it to optimize your bed for your better sleep?
The Eight Sleep Pod Mattress is one of the most innovative mattresses in the foam bed industry. It tracks your sleep data and optimizes your sleep cycle. With the Eight Sleep, you can wake up more comfortable and sleep better with a partner. Users who stay constantly plugged into other technology will enjoy that it connects to other smart gadgets. It provides special advantages for both side sleepers and back sleepers.
For people who appreciate technology’s ability to enhance all aspects of life and lovers of smart home features, the Pod may be for you. This Eight Sleep Pod mattress review covers everything you need to know about this revolutionary technology. Read on the review to see how it can drastically improve your sleep (and your life!). We assure you once you start to review it, there will not be a way back but to acquire the Pod.
Eight Sleep Pod Review: The Upgraded Version of the Eight Sleep Smart Bed
Eight Sleep, a technology company based in New York, started back in 2014. It specializes in a variety of accessories and devices to improve the human sleeping experience in all sleep stages.
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Eight Sleep has cemented its reputation on manufacturing smart mattresses. This intelligent foam bed is popular among consumers, thanks to its ability to track two users’ sleep data.
Seeing how popular the Bed was, the company created the Eight Sleep Pod. The Pod is an upgraded version of the Smart Bed. It has a slightly different construction and additional features. For your better understanding of the Pod, we have prepared you the Eight Sleep Pod Review.
Eight Sleep Pod Review – The Setup
The Eight Sleep Pod is a little more complicated to set up than your standard mattress. But, you can expect this from any mattress.
The Pod arrives compressed and comes with straightforward instructions. Part of the instructions includes filling up the hub with water, as this is how the Eight sleep mattress cools/heats. The hub is easy to fill and secure from leaking.
After putting everything together, you’ll need to download the Eight Sleep application. It will prompt you to make a user profile and ask about your sleep preferences.
During setup, you can invite a partner. They can set up their profile so that the mattress knows their unique sleep preferences. You can also choose whether you want to share your sleep data with your partner through the Eight Sleep app.
Keep in mind that setup may take up to a couple of hours. You may want to set up the Pod during the day rather than waiting until just before bed.
Construction
Support Layer
The Pod is an all-foam mattress with four layers. The Pod brings a solid foam mattress and intriguing technology layer to the table. At the base, there is a 5-inch support layer of high-density polyfoam. This technology layer acts as a sturdy base for the comfort layers. However, a polyfoam mattress with a high-density layer doesn’t offer the best edge support seeing as its edges tend to sag over time, which leads us to the next point.
Comfort Layers
On top of the support layer three are 2-inch comfort layers, the first made of Luracor foam. Luracor foam mimics latex in that it provides more bounciness than conforming poly foams. But, Luracor foam does not have the same temperature neutrality and durability as latex.
The second and third comfort layers consist of regular polyfoam and medium-density memory foam, respectively. These three layers work together to provide both pressure relief and support to make sleeping better at night.
Cover
Encasing all of these comfort layers is the mattress’s dark grey cover. Made of polyester and cotton, the smart cover is unzippable and looks conventional enough. But don’t let looks deceive you — this cover is where all of the technological components lie.
Within the cover, you’ll find:
- Bands of sensors that track sleep data for two users
- Active Grid of small water tubes that heat/cool the mattress
It seems like a lot is going on the cover. But is it convenient to sleep?
The good news is that all of the wires and tubing are virtually undetectable. You might feel them when you run your hand over the cover, but they are unnoticeable when you lay down.
The other good news about the bed? Because the cover is unzippable, users can’t mess with the technological components that power this mattress. You won’t have to worry about knocking any sensors or tubes out of place.
Height
This modern bed has a height of 11 inches, which is relatively standard for all-foam mattresses. Most users don’t find the bed too short or too tall. And, you won’t have a problem fitting most sheets on it.
How Does the Pod Feel?
Now that you understand the construction of the bed, you probably want to know: How does it feel to sleep on it?
Compared to other beds, the Pod has an average firmness due to its special memory foam layer. It offers an average amount of support and is slightly bouncy. This optimal firmness is thanks to the latex-like Luracor comfort layer. This comfort layer improves sleep quality during the night or anytime you go to bed.
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Note that even though the Pod has a memory foam layer, it does not provide the deep contouring that regular memory foam mattresses do. The Pod’s memory foam layer is too deep for sleepers to experience contouring.
As a result, with this layer sleeping on the Pod feels like you’re floating on instead of sinking into the mattress. Users appreciate the medium support and the fact that you can’t feel all the technological components.
For Diverse Body Types and Weight Groups
Keep in mind that a sleeper’s weight affects how cozy they find a bed to be.
Lightweight and average weight sleepers, for instance, tend to like medium firmness mattresses. The Pod’s medium firmness gives enough to feel pressure relief while still providing support to sleepers under 230 pounds. Sleepers above this weight group may desire something with more support.
For Sleep Positions of All Types
Like with your weight, your preferred sleeping position affects how convenient you’ll find a bed.
It is especially useful for side sleepers and back sleepers, but probably not for stomach sleepers. For instance, if you’re a side sleeper, this newly structured bed does a fantastic job of relieving shoulder and hip pressure. Others find that the mattress provides support that prevents stiffness on their lower back. Some stomach sleepers, however, report that the Pod lets their hips sink below their spine. This misalignment may cause some discomfort.
Other Critical Factors
The comfort of a mattress isn’t the only factor to consider. Here’s how the Pod performs in other critical areas that affect sleep:
Edge Support
As enjoyable as the Pod is, it lacks in edge support. The polyfoam tends to sag near the edges, which will only get worse over time.
When you sit on or sleep near the edge of the mattress, it dips significantly. Users find that they have to sleep towards the middle for more support. It can be frustrating that you have some limits on how much of the mattress you can comfortably use.
Pressure Relief
Even though the Pod lacks edge support, its active grid technology offers significant pressure relief during sleep time as well as it stabilizes heart rate respiratory. The active grid takes the force off your joints by slightly giving in to your body weight. Yet, the active grid doesn’t cave so much that it falls short of the support your body needs.
Motion Isolation
All-foam mattresses tend to have sound motion isolation. But we felt particularly impressed by how well the Pod performed in this category as an optimized active grid does not have any effect on motion.
With the Pod, you’ll feel little to no motion transfer when someone changes positions on their side. You can get an excellent night’s sleep, no matter how restless your partner is. The Active Grid seems not to affect the Pod’s motion transfer.
Some users report that they can feel when their partners get out of bed. However, the slight movement is due to the mattress dipping rather than motion transfer. which can be wrongly thought, affected by an active grid.
Noise
Besides excellent motion isolation and active grid, memory foam tends to be silent. The Pod is no different.
This Pod creates a quiet, peaceful atmosphere. It lets you noiselessly get out of bed so that you won’t disturb your partner on different schedules. The lack of bedsprings means you don’t have to feel worried about annoying squeaks. Plus, the foam muffles sounds that come from the bed frame.
Some consumers worry that the mattress’s water pump might be noisy. We’re happy to report that the pump is practically silent and will likely continue to stay that way. So, you can enjoy the heating/cooling features without any noise.
Temperature Neutrality
Later on, we discuss the Pod’s heating system as well as cooling one in more detail. But here, we would like to point out that its temperature neutrality is a significant plus.
In the app, you can select your ideal temperature throughout the night. The hub sends water through the tubes to either heat or cool the mattress. With the help of the hub, the mattress heats up/cools down within minutes to be at the ideal temperature right at bedtime.
Off-Gassing
Off-gassing is relatively standard. It happens when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emit from manufactured products. They are usually harmless but have a terrible odor.
Upon unboxing, the Pod smells strongly of plastic or rubber. It is unpleasant, but most users report that it fades after 12 hours or so. Within 36 hours after unboxing, the smell should dissipate completely.
Overall Durability
Overall durability is a crucial factor to consider for any bed that you want to last. Unlike a smartphone or laptop, most people don’t replace their mattresses yearly. The Pod isn’t cheap, so you want to make sure that your bed will last a long time.
Eight Sleep launched the Pod relatively recently, so we can’t say with certainty how long it will last. Therefore, we’ll analyze its durability based on its construction.
Let’s start by looking at its materials. The synthetic foam tends to wear out relatively quickly and is prone to sagging due to the lack of edge support. We predict that this mattress will last you about 5-7 years. This lifespan is decent, especially when considering that the average mattresses last around eight years.
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When analyzing the Pod’s durability, we should also consider its technological components. It’s hard to say how long they’ll last, but they worked flawlessly after repeated adjustments during our Eight Sleep Pod Mattress review testing and user reports. The unzippable cover protects them, and the water hose doesn’t seem prone to leaks. There’s no reason to suspect that the technology won’t last as long as the mattress will.
If you do experience problems, Eight Sleep covers the technology with a one-year warranty. The company also offers troubleshooting support.
The Pod’s Best Features
So far, we’ve covered how the Pod feels and hinted at its features. Below, we go more in-depth into this smart mattress’ innovations:
Sleep Tracking
The Eight Sleep Pod uses high tech sensor bands for tracking your sleep stages throughout the night on your modern bed. It connects to the Eight Sleep app, which is very easy to use, to show you data like:
- Time slept
- Wake-up frequency
- Time to fall asleep
- Time to leave the bed
- Overall timeline
- How long you spent in each sleep stage
The Eight Sleep app uses all of this information to give you an overall “Sleep Fitness” score. This score helps you understand your patterns and improve your sleep. It can be understood your sleep score calculation has a great advantage. Also, by knowing your sleep score, the Eight Sleep Pod provides you with recommended settings.
The Pod can now sense your respiratory rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability. This is even more useful for people whose respiratory rate often changes.
For the most part, the data seems accurate. However, it’s worth noting a few bugs.
The Pod is a great system for those interested in sleep tracking. The Eight Sleep app may start tracking you as “asleep,” even if you are just watching TV in bed, affecting your score’s accuracy. You may want to be intentional about going to sleep as soon as you get in bed.
The Pod’s advanced sleep tracking may also record you as getting up throughout the night, even if you don’t. This misreading can happen if you don’t stick to your side or spend a lot of time near the bed’s edge.
Despite its minor bugs, the tracking feature gives you a good idea of your sleep patterns. It’s cool to look at the data and see how you can improve your habits.
HRV Monitoring
The Eight Sleep Pod has sensors to track your heart rate, respiration, etc. The app uses these stats to compile health reports and give you a deeper understanding of your sleep patterns. Also, it has temperature regulation features that are easy to use through smartphone applications.
Heating and Cooling Technology
Besides sleep tracking and HRV monitoring, the cooling and heating technology is one of the Pod’s most raved-about temperature regulation features. In addition, Eight Sleep Pod has one of the most effective temperature control systems we’ve seen in a mattress.
With the temperature capability ranging from 55 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, you can select your specific temperature of the mattress in the app. When you set up your profile, it will ask you whether you want the Pod to keep you warm, cool, or neither. You can always change the temperature control settings later. The cooling system, as well as the heating one, are optimized to work without any errors
The app will give you temperature recommendations based on your preferences. With the hub, you can adjust how warm/cool you want the mattress to be:
- At bedtime
- During deep sleep
- During complete sleep
Throughout the night, the hub sends water throughout the tubes to heat/cool your bed. It offers an exquisitely comfortable sleeping experience. The temperature range is 55-110°F, with neither extreme being too drastic.
Temperature and Noise Alarms
The heating/cooling system doesn’t just make for a good sleeping experience. It also creates a fantastic waking experience.
You can use the Eight Sleep Pod app to set temperature alarms. These temperature controls will wake you from your rem sleep either by making the mattress extra warm or cool. Users like the smart alarm because:
- They provide a gradual waking experience
- They wake you without waking your partner
Many users report that the warmer alarms get them out of bed. The cooler alarms can help with falling asleep and make you want to stay under the covers longer.
If you don’t like the temperature alarms, you can set regular noise alarms on the Eight Sleep Pod app.
Note that you can set the temperature and noise alarms for a specific time. You can also tell the app to wake you when you’re in an ideal sleep stage. This function will make waking up much more comfortable and ensure you have a refreshing start.
Two Sleeper Accommodations
The Eight Sleep Pod is suitable for two sleepers, meaning you and your partner will reap its full benefits.
During setup, you choose which side of the bed you will be sleeping on. This initial setup is also when you invite your partner to choose their preferences on the side of the bed.
You both make separate profiles. This way, the app will accurately report your sleep data. You can choose whether or not you would like to share this data.
Having separate profiles also allows you to customize your sleeping experience. You and your partner can pick your respective ideal mattress temperatures. And, you can temperature alarms that won’t disturb the other.
White Noise
Not everyone likes vibration, but this gentle noise feature is a nice touch for those who do. It masks sounds throughout the night. And, if you do wake up, it makes it easier to fall back asleep.
Compatible with Other Smart Devices
If the previous features didn’t convince you that the Pod is a mattress from the future, this next feature will!
The Pod is compatible with other modern devices thanks to its IFTTT compatibility. With IFTTT, you can make your Hue lights turn off when it’s time for bed, or you can get. Also, users may sync it to their thermostat to cool/warm their homes when they awake. Or, they can have it start their coffee maker when their alarm rings. The possibilities are endless.
If tech is your life, and you are a smart home enthusiast, the Pod is a must-have. It will help you manage all of your devices and improve efficiency.
Who Is the Ideal Candidate for the Eight Sleep Pod?
The Eight Sleep Pod has some of the freshest, most useful features of any smart mattress. However, it’s a better choice for some consumers than others.
We recommend the Pod for groups including:
Lightweight and Average Weight Sleepers
Sleepers under 230 pounds find using the Eight Sleep Pod to be the perfect combination of support and pressure relief. Heavyweight sleepers may feel li a firmer mattress.
Couples
The Pod is an excellent option for couples. Each partner gets their side of the bed, allowing the app to track their sleep and adjust the mattress to their ideal temperatures. Also, the mattress prevents disturbances through its noiselessness, motion isolation, and temperature alarms.
Note that some couples report that the mattress isn’t great for sex. It lacks edge support and firmness, resulting in it not being the most stable option.
Can Singles Use This Bed?
Singles can use this bed. However, for the mattress to collect accurate data, a person must stay on one side of this bed. Singles might feel frustrated by not being able to use the whole space.
Anyone Looking to Optimize Their Life
The Eight Sleep Pod is the perfect way to optimize your sleep. It tracks data and makes your nights more comfortable.
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It can also optimize other parts of your life, seeing as it integrates with other digital devices. It is a must-have if you want to streamline your everyday activities. We hope the Eight Sleep Pod review was useful for you to get a more clear picture of the product. For any other questions, do not hesitate to contact us as our customer service is the best and will provide you the excellent service. Order yours today!
FAQs
Here are some FAQs about the Pod:
What are the mattress sizes?
You can get the pod as a full, queen, king, or California king.
Where can I buy the Eight Sleep Pod?
You can buy a Pod through Eight Sleep’s website or at the company’s showroom in New York City.
What is the delivery policy for Eight Sleep?
Eight Sleep only delivers to consumers in the contiguous U.S. Shipping is free.
When you order the Pod, you can expect it within 5-7 business days. It comes compressed in boxes for you to set up yourself. Currently, Eight Sleep does not offer white glove delivery or old mattress removal.
Does Eight Sleep provide a trial for the Pod?
Consumers can take advantage of the company’s 100-night sleep trial period. You can return the mattress at any point within the 100 days for any reason. Rest assured, Eight Sleep will cover all shipping charges for returns.
Does the Eight Sleep Pod come with a warranty?
The Eight Sleep Pod new mattress comes with a 10-year, non-prorated warranty. The warranty covers defects, including indents wider than one inch, manufacturing flaws, etc. The smart technology comes with a separate one-year warranty.
Owners will have to pay shipping fees, but Eight Sleep will cover all replacement/repair fees.
Is the Pod a Good Choice?
Here’s a quick summary of the Pod’s pros and cons:
Pros
- Relatively easy setup
- Medium firmness
- Great for lightweight and average weight sleepers
- Heating and cooling technology
- Sensors that track your sleep and HRV data
- White noise machine
- Temperature and noise alarms
- Built for two sleepers
- Integrates with other smart devices
- 100-night sleep trial
- 10-year warranty
Cons
- May not be firm enough for heavyweight sleepers
- Lacks edge support
Despite some minor flaws, it will be hard to find a better smart mattress than this one. Our Eight Sleep Pod Mattress review concludes that it’s the perfect way to optimize your sleep and life! Try it for yourself today!
