Eight Sleep Pod Review

Here’s a quick look at the key highlights of the Eight Sleep mattress line:

Eight Sleep Pod is a mattress company that prioritizes technology for better sleep. The company pairs foam mattresses with an Active Grid layer, which uses water to manage temperature while you sleep. Sensors also track your sleep and health metrics, which are viewable in the accompanying app.

Each mattress comes with a Hub, which is connected to the Active Grid and powers connectivity to the app. If the technology alone appeals to you, you can add the Active Grid and Hub to an existing mattress.

With its temperature-control features, the Eight Sleep Pod mattress is a good option for hot sleepers and people who can’t seem to get warm. But anyone experiencing sleep disruptions may also benefit from the technology of this mattress, which is designed to help you fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly, and even improve recovery times so that you wake up feeling refreshed.

The Pod mattress is also a good option for partners who share a bed but have different ideas of what’s comfortable. Each side of the Pod can be cooled or heated individually so that you sleep better. Note that the maximum weight limit for the Pod is 500 pounds, so it won’t accommodate all couples.

Eight Sleep Pod prices put them firmly in the luxury mattress category. Mid-range prices for a higher quality queen mattress generally fall into the neighborhood of $1,000 to $1,300. A queen Pod will cost almost twice that.

Many people consider a good mattress worth investing in, but this mattress may be out of reach for people on a budget.

Prices for the Pod mattresses in queen size:

• $ = under $3,000
• $$ = over $3,000

The Pod

• Price: $
• Type: foam
• Height: 11 inches (in.)
• Good for: stomach, back, and combination sleepers

While the basic Pod mattress lacks the full range of technology you’ll find in the Pro and Pro Max, it still has several unique features.

For many, the primary appeal of the bed is the temperature control function. You can use the Eight Sleep app from your smartphone to set and adjust the bed’s temperature based on your sleep-wake schedule. You can also connect the Pod bed to smart home systems and products, including Alexa.

The Pod also offers sleep tracking* in its app, which you can customize separately for each side of the bed. The sleep tracking technology is similar to what you’d find from popular sleep tracking apps already available for iPhone and Android, but the data is collected from the bed rather than your smartphone, smartwatch, or other wearable sensor.

The bed itself consists of three layers of foam. This foam aims to provide body contouring, pressure relief, and spinal alignment while still offering elasticity and bounce, so you don’t feel stuck when trying to change positions.

On top of the foam rests the Active Grid layer, the source of the temperature control function. Based on your set preference, warm, cool, or temperature-neutral water flows into this grid from the hub to maintain the right temperature for sleep. (Yes, it uses water, but it’s nothing like a water bed.)

One drawback of this system is that you may feel this grid through the mattress cover. You might also notice a little more motion transfer than you would in a typical memory foam mattress.

Many reviewers love the temperature control and enjoy using the sleep tracking app, but several people say the bed itself feels too firm. Others note the weak edges of the mattress.

For the most part, though, people praise the Pod. Some people felt it wasn’t quite worth the price, but many say it improved their sleeping habits and overall sleep health.

*Note: Healthline does not currently endorse the Eight Sleep smart bed sleep tracking technology because we’re unable to validate its health claims. We provide more information on this below.

Buy The Pod online.

The Pod Pro & Pro Max

• Price: $$
• Type: foam
• Height: 12 in.
• Good for: side, back, and combination sleepers

The Pod Pro and Pro Max are essentially the same mattress. Both feature multiple layers of foam for comfort, including a foam topper sewn directly onto the mattress cover to provide extra cushioning.

The main difference in the construction of these mattresses is an additional layer of cooling in the Pro Max. The extra layer is made with foam infused with copper, graphite, and silver. Many mattress brands use silver and copper for their antimicrobial properties and graphite for its cooling properties.

Both mattresses come with the same technology, which has a few extra features not seen in the basic Pod. The water grid regulates temperature in the same way, but these Pods come equipped with sensors that are supposed to measure and respond to the surrounding temperature to help keep your bed comfortable for you.

They also feature a unique alarm designed to wake you up silently by vibrating and cooling or warming the mattress a few minutes before the alarm goes off.

Getting too warm can easily disrupt your sleep, notes a 2018 research review, and many reviewers confirm they sleep much better with the improved cooling technology. A few people do mention that the grid mat used to control temperature has little give, which they say makes the mattress somewhat uncomfortable.

Both the Pro and Pro Max make good options for side and combination sleepers, though the Pro may also work well for back sleepers and stomach sleepers with lower body weights.

Strict stomach sleepers and those who need a firm mattress likely won’t find the Pro supportive enough. The additional foam layer in the Pro Max makes it a bit softer, so it may be a better option for dedicated side sleepers and people who need more pressure relief.

Buy the Pod Pro or Pro Max online.

Eight Sleep Pod mattresses are currently only sold online.

The company does occasionally put mattresses on sale and offer discount codes, so you may not necessarily pay full price. Eight Sleep also offers financing through Affirm.

The three Pod mattresses are pretty similar in construction. If you’re trying to decide which version might work best for you, weighing these key differences can help.

Height

The Pod is 11 in. tall, which gives it an inch up on many standard 10-inch mattresses.

The Pod Pro and Max are both 12 in. tall. One inch may not seem like a huge difference — and it often isn’t — but it can provide some extra support and durability for people who need a sturdier bed. In some cases, this extra inch of foam also makes for a slightly softer mattress.

Foam

All three mattresses have an all-foam construction. The Pod has three layers of foam, the Pro has five, and the Pro Max has six. Additional layers help improve mattress durability, but they can also change how a mattress contours and cushions your body.

Different types of foam also help prevent that trapped-in-the-bed sensation associated with some memory foam mattresses. Since the Pro and Pro Max both have a layer of open-cell foam, these mattresses might feel slightly more elastic and responsive to movement.

Wondering about the other benefits of a foam mattress?

Foam aims to provide a soft, comfortable sleeping surface that can help relieve pressure and pain, according to a 2015 study. Foam can also help isolate motion, so many couples prefer foam mattresses when one partner moves around a lot and the other is easily woken up.

Feel and firmness

According to Eight Sleep customer support, all three Pods fall into the medium firmness range, but they do have a slightly different feel. The basic Pod feels the firmest, while the Pro Max feels the softest. The Pro lies in the middle.

Keep in mind, though, that while the Pro Max might feel a little softer than the other two, it still isn’t considered a soft or plush mattress. Some reviewers found these mattresses uncomfortably firm, so that’s something to keep in mind if you prefer a soft bed.

Generally speaking, medium-firm mattresses work well for most people — research suggests they offer the right combination of comfort, spinal alignment, and support for good sleep health.

Still, sleep needs differ from person to person, and you might find a medium-firm mattress too soft or too hard. It’s most important to find a mattress that feels right to you.

Health check technology

The Pro and Pro Max both offer a feature called Daily Health Check. This technology uses data from the sleep and heart rate variability tracking functions in the Pro and Pro Max mattresses to give you updates about these biometrics.

The company claims these features can offer information about your health and promote better wellness overall.

Note: Find Healthline’s position on these claims below.

Aside from temperature regulation and technology, it’s important to consider the performance of Pod mattresses.

• Responsiveness: The foam used in Pod mattresses is designed to offer enough elasticity and bounce that you don’t have the “stuck” sensation common to memory foam, particularly with the Pro and Pro Max models.
• Motion isolation: The same grid that delivers those impressive temperature-regulating benefits may contribute to a little more motion transfer in comparison to a traditional memory foam mattress. It’s not terrible, but worth keeping in mind if zero motion transfer is high on your priority list.
• Pressure relief: This is one of the features of the all-foam Pod mattresses, so you can expect superior pressure relief while you snooze.
• Edge support: Some reviewers found the edge support to be a little weak. If you like to maximize your sleeping surface, that’s worth keeping in mind.

Advanced temperature regulation are arguably one of the biggest benefits of the Pod mattresses, which makes them a good choice for people who tend to get overly hot or too cold during sleep.

Fans of technology will enjoy all the bells and whistles that come from this smart mattress, too, like temperature regulation, sleep tracking features, and smart home integration.

Pod mattresses fall into the medium-firm range, so they’ll accommodate a pretty broad range of sleepers. Still, body weight is a factor in how a mattress feels, and people with higher body weights may find these mattresses on the softer side — even if they’re not technically considered soft or plush.

Keep in mind that the weight limit for Pod mattresses is 500 pounds, so they may not be suitable for some couples.

Anyone who isn’t interested in tech features and shoppers on a tight budget should also keep looking.

Because they’re all medium-firm mattresses, Pod mattresses can be a good choice for most sleeping positions. The Pro and Pro Max in particular will work well for side and combination sleepers. The Pro may also accommodate back and stomach sleepers if they have lower body weights. The more weight a person has, the softer a mattress will feel.

Side sleepers will likely find that the extra foam layer in the Pro Max delivers the pressure relief they need for a comfortable, supportive night’s sleep.

Anyone who needs a firm mattress and those who always sleep on their stomachs probably won’t find enough support on the Pro.

Eight Sleep has a good company reputation, according to the following criteria:

• The company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
• They haven’t been involved in any lawsuits related to business practices.
• Their products have not been recalled.

In the FAQ page of their website, Eight Sleep does break down the different foam layers in each of the Pods, but they don’t get into much detail on what the foam actually consists of.

They also don’t state clearly where the mattresses are made. We reached out to customer support for more information and learned that the mattresses are made in the United States.

The foam used in Eight Sleep mattresses does meet federal flammability standards. It’s also certified by CertiPUR-US. This certification means the foam is free of toxic chemicals and meets emissions standards for indoor air quality.

Health claims

Along with the sleep tracking function found in the Pod, the Pro and Pro Max also offer a daily health report through the app.

According to the company, this report offers insight on your physical health based on information about your heart rate and breathing. Eight Sleep suggests these biometrics can offer information about the amount of sleep you need and how your sleep habits impact your health or ability to recover from illness.

Healthline can’t validate these claims, so we can’t endorse or recommend this technology. Eight Sleep may work with a team of experts and design their mattresses with your optimal sleep health in mind, but there’s still no scientific evidence to prove what they suggest their technology can do.

It’s always best to proceed with caution when you come across products claiming to improve health. When shopping for a new mattress, it’s generally more helpful to choose one that meets all or most of your sleep needs. Technology might be a bonus, but at the end of the day, it alone won’t align your spine or support your back.

Other features of the app, such as breathing exercises, guided meditations, and soothing sleep sounds, can absolutely work well as part of a nightly wind-down routine, especially for people who have trouble drifting off.

In general, customers praise Eight Sleep’s customer service.

A few customers have raised concerns about the company failing to reply to return requests in a timely manner. Other customers, however, say Eight Sleep replied quickly and provided good support.

Many reviewers mention some glitches with the bed technology and app interface, and some people had trouble connecting it to their home wireless network. Others say the technology stopped working after a few years.

By and large, reviewers say Eight Sleep has great customer service, even when it takes time to get the technology working properly. People who reported leaks also say the company was quick to replace the mattress grid.

The Pod mattresses arrive in two separate boxes. One box contains the compressed and rolled mattress. The second contains the technology hub.

It takes about 24 hours for the mattress to fully decompress, according to the company website. You do have the option to pay an additional fee for in-home unboxing and setup. If you choose this type of delivery, the delivery team will also take away your old mattress.

New foam mattresses often have a chemical smell that usually fades in a day or two. No customer reviews mention off-gassing, but you could still notice a faint odor, especially if you’re sensitive to smells.

When shopping for a mattress online, you can’t take it for a test snooze in the showroom, so it’s important to choose a mattress with a solid return policy. Carefully review the policy before you purchase so you won’t be surprised by fees later.

If your new Pod doesn’t work out, you have 100 days to return it for a full refund. Returns are free, and Eight Sleep will help you make arrangements to donate the mattress.

To get started with a return, you’ll need to contact customer support through email with your order number, so keep that when you make your purchase.

The 10-year limited warranty for the mattress covers body indentations deeper than an inch, along with any product flaws or defects. Note that some mattress warranties require you to use a certain type of base with the mattress, so it’s important to double-check before purchasing.

The Pod technology has a separate warranty of 2 years.

What kind of mattresses does Eight Sleep make?

The three mattresses made by Eight Sleep have an all-foam construction and an Active Grid layer that uses water for temperature regulation.

How firm are Eight Sleep Pod mattresses?

All three mattresses fall into the medium-firm range, but the Pro and Pro Max have extra layers of foam that make them feel a little softer. The Pod feels the firmest.

What kind of technology do Eight Sleep Pod mattresses have?

The mattresses have an Active Grid layer that uses water to adjust their temperature, a feature that’s controlled via a smartphone app. You can also track your sleep with technology that the company says detects heartbeats and breathing patterns.

Pod mattresses can also be connected to smart home systems like Alexa and Nest.

Is an Eight Sleep Pod mattress worth it?

If your goal is a mattress with smart features and temperature regulation, Eight Sleep Pod mattresses may be worth exploring. You’ll pay more than a traditional mattress, but the benefits may be worth it.

How cold do Eight Sleep Pod mattresses get?

Temperatures in the Pod mattresses can get as cold as 55°F (13°C). Temperatures in these mattresses are controlled by liquid, and they can get as warm as 110°F (43°C).

How long do Eight Sleep Pod mattresses last?

It’s generally recommended that mattresses be replaced every 10 years, though you may find that your mattress needs replacing sooner than that. Eight Sleep Pod mattresses are made of foam, so 10 years is likely as long as they will perform. Keep in mind that the mattress itself comes with a 10-year warranty, but the technology bundle is only under warranty for 2 years.

The Eight Sleep Pod offers a unique sleep experience that may appeal to people who love the latest technology, want to sleep cooler, and need a lot of control over their sleep experience.

The Pods do offer a lot in the way of temperature regulation, but they don’t come cheap. If you don’t need all the tech, consider these alternate options for cooling mattresses.

Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy. Her fields of interest include Asian languages and literature, Japanese translation, cooking, natural sciences, sex positivity, and mental health. In particular, she’s committed to helping decrease stigma around mental health issues.