One Year of the Eight Sleep Smart Mattress: An Honest Review
We’ve now spent a full year sleeping on the Eight Sleep Pod 4, and it’s safe to say this smart mattress has completely changed the way we think about rest. With all the hype around Eight Sleep in the wellness and tech world, we wanted to put it to the test long-term.
After 12 months of nightly use, here’s our honest review.
Note: You can read all about our first impressions and more details on the basics of Eight Sleep here.
What Is Eight Sleep?
Eight Sleep is a smart mattress topper designed to optimize your sleep using technology. Instead of just being a mattress topper, it’s a complete platform with built-in sensors, temperature control, and tracking features to help you sleep better and recover faster. Think of it as part mattress topper, part sleep coach, part wellness tracker.
There are different versions but we have the Pod 4.
Key Features of the Eight Sleep Pod 4
Dynamic Temperature Control: The mattress actively heats or cools each side of the bed, anywhere from 55° - 110°F, so you and your partner can sleep at totally different temperatures
Autopilot Mode: In theory, the system learns your sleep preferences and automatically adjusts temperatures overnight based on patterns, room conditions, and biometrics
Sleep Tracking: Built-in sensors measure things like heart rate, respiratory rate, tosses and turns, and sleep stages, all without a wearable
Gentle Wake Alarm: Instead of blaring sounds, the Pod wakes you with subtle vibrations and a gradual temperature shift
App & Insights: The Eight Sleep app provides nightly sleep scores, trend tracking, and personalized recommendations
Comfort Layer: The mattress itself is surprisingly comfortable, with adaptive foam layers designed to balance support and pressure relief
What We Loved
Perfect for Couples: The dual-zone temperature control is a game-changer. One of us likes sleeping warm, the other cold. For the first time, we’re both 100% comfortable in our ideal temperature setting
Temperature Control Actually Works: The cooling feature in summer is incredible. We no longer wake up sweaty, which alone has improved sleep quality dramatically. And equally, we love the warming feature in winter
Data and Insights: The nightly sleep reports are accurate and helpful. Seeing long-term trends has made us more mindful of habits like late-night meals or alcohol consumption
Build Quality: After a year, the mattress topper feels just as supportive as day one. No sagging, no breakdown.
Where It Falls Short
Autopilot: Does Autopilot really work? We’re still not entirely sure. Sometimes the temperature adjustments felt helpful, other times they just don’t seem noticeable. We feel like this one is a bit of a gimmick
The Alarm: We wanted to love the gentle wake-up, but honestly, the vibration isn’t strong enough to consistently get us up. We find ourselves defaulting to our phones or smart speakers instead (although, we do love the temperature shift in the morning)
Price Point: More on that below, but this isn’t a budget buy. We especially dislike that the app comes with an additional subscription fee…
How It’s Held Up After One Year
We are pleasantly surprised to report that we have not encountered a single bug or unexpected issue after a full year of sleeping on the Eight Sleep. It works just as well as the first night and, at this point, we can’t imagine sleeping on anything else at home. It’s one of the top things we miss when traveling!
The Price
The Eight Sleep Pod 4 starts at around $2,500 for a full size and goes up to $3,000+ for a california king, depending on the setup. That makes it significantly more expensive than even premium mattress toppers. But unlike a traditional option, Eight Sleep is also a piece of technology with ongoing software updates. Autopilot also requires an additional subscription. It’s pretty crazy to have an additional ~$20 monthly fee on top of such a hefty price.
The Pod 5 has also been released since we bought out Eight Sleep but honestly, our Pod 4 has held up great and we can’t see the rationale in upgrading.
Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?
For us, the answer is a clear yes. The Eight Sleep Pod 4 has noticeably improved our sleep quality, especially as a couple with very different temperature preferences. The insights are motivating, the comfort is excellent, and the cooling feature alone makes it worthwhile.
That said, it’s not perfect. Autopilot feels a little more like a nice-to-have than a necessity, and the alarm didn’t win us over. But after a year, we can’t imagine going back to a traditional mattress. If you value sleep, recovery, and smart home tech, the Eight Sleep Pod 4 is one of the best purchases you can make for your health and comfort.
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