You probably already know that improving the quality of your sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health. Unfortunately, the length or duration of sleep is just one of many other factors (such as 'depth', regularity and consistency of sleep) that play a role in our overall 'sleep hygiene', as it is often called these days. The quality of your sleep is apparently just as important as the duration.
There are a whole host of lifestyle factors, over-the-counter or prescription treatments, and products like white noise machines, ergonomic pillows, and even split bedding for sharing the bed with a partner to help you sleep better. But Eight Sleep's bougie Sleep Pod 3 has been the biggest game-changer for improving the quality of my sleep, especially as a bona fide human oven, especially while sleeping. But even if you're not a "hot sleeper" like me, I know your sleep hygiene could use a good boost with one or more of the Sleep Pod 3's sleep-enhancing features.
What is the Eight Sleep Sleep Pod 3?
At the risk of oversimplifying it, the Sleep Pod 3 from Eight Sleep is basically a smart mattress protector on steroids. The Sleep Pod comes with an 'intelligent' mattress cover designed with health sensors that, along with the Pod itself (the brains of the system), the water hoses, USB connector and power cord needed to make them work together .
The mattress cover description of the cover is a bit of a misnomer - it's really a very slim, very form-fitting mattress cover - you can easily put your favorite sheets over it without loosening the cover underneath. The cover features an Active Grid with built-in pipes that circulate cool or warm water to your side of the bed, making it ideal for partners who sleep together but have different sleep preferences in terms of temperature. It also has built-in sensors that monitor vital signs such as heart rate, breathing rate and sleep movements. In the simplest language, the cover is the set of sensors, vibration bits, monitors and tubes that cover your traditional mattress.
The story continues
Eight Sleep Pod 3
This new model has improved sleep tracking accuracy compared to the previous model, the Sleep Pod 2, and compares favorably in terms of accuracy to my Oura Ring, Apple Watch and RingConn devices and the Pixel Watch 2 devices from my husband in terms of sleep tracking (to the extent we can tell anecdotally).
The Hub connects to the Active Grid, which houses essential technology, which links back to the Pod itself and via your home router and the app installed on your mobile device using WiFi (which now supports 5GHz networks), allowing installation is even easier than with many digital devices. setups that you expect to require less effort or skill. The Pod Cover works with most mattresses up to 16 inches thick.
Buy Eight Sleep Pod 3 at Eight Sleep, $2195
Drafting and priming
Initial setup was super easy and quick: it's literally a matter of downloading the app (and adding a sleep partner, if you wish), pressing a button and placing the cover over your mattress and simply 'plug-and-play' - play' style insertion of the three included cords. This part of the active setup time only took us about fifteen minutes.
The 'Priming' part of the installation can take two to three hours and involves the Hub distributing the water to the coils in the mattress cover to activate its temperature regulating properties. While we only had to do this once to get it to work properly, other reviews have mentioned that we had to repeat the initial preparation process up to three times to get it working. You must fill the water every time you refill the water tank. This takes about an hour on average and is needed about every 4-8 weeks on average. My first required 'priming' didn't come until about 5 weeks into our use.
Sleep pod 3 features
By using a single fused set of several tubes and pumping heated or cooled water through them, the Eight Sleep Pod 3 system can use Autopilot mode to cool or warm your bed in anticipation of your bedtime and even during your sleep so you can maximize it while you sleep. The Pod 3 system can even activate a thermal and vibration-based alarm on the schedule you specify. Personally, this is my favorite feature of the Sleep Pod 3. While I absolutely love this feature, an idea for future models might be if it would sync with your phone's native Clock app to automatically set your phone's alarms. create and synchronize with it. Nevertheless, this is simply the best wake and sleep system I have used, whether technical, mechanical, pharmaceutical or otherwise.
There are no silver linings to this sleepy cloud, however: the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover comes with a high starting price. Additionally, the best features, Autopilot and Data Insight features require a Pro subscription, which starts at $15 per month.
There are no silver linings to this cloud, however: the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover comes with a high starting price. Additionally, the best features, Autopilot and Data Insight features require a Pro subscription, which starts at $15 per month.
Positives
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Thermal and vibrating alarm functionality, which can be set with the app via your smartphone (the gentlest yet effective alarm system I have ever used).
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Individual temperature control (you can set it as low as 55 degrees and as high as 110 degrees): Settings can be controlled for each side of the bed, making it ideal for couples sharing a bed.
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Very accurate and informative tracking of vital signs, sleep and wellbeing, comparable to my Oura Ring and smartwatch.
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The Eight Sleep app is very easy to use.
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The water tank (which supports the cooling function) only needs to be refilled approximately every three weeks during nightly use.
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The autopilot system automatically adjusts settings to your body's preferences based on the data, although it takes a few weeks to 'get to know you'.
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Robust five-year warranty.
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Sleek design: The pod is as small as your average air purifier and actually looks nice next to your bed, while the mattress cover is completely invisible under your favorite sheets (the model I reviewed fits mattresses up to 16 inches thick with ease) .
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Accurate and insightful vital signs data and sleep tracking that was on par with my other wearables.
Cons
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The price is the biggest disadvantage
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It can be a bit noisy when filling the coils with water as reported in other reviews, but personally I only noticed any noise once.
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You have to buy a subscription to use the system, and it costs about $15 per month.
General thoughts
The Eight Sleep system offers advanced features, personalized comfort and accurate sleep tracking. These features aren't just novelties, but combine in 'automatic' mode to magically transform your existing mattress and bed setup into a fully customizable, highly accurate tool for tracking and maximizing your sleep. The data on sleep often exceeds that of Fitbit, Google Fit, or other wearable health or sleep tracking apps. The app gives me a holistic sleep quality score and a number of different data points and different metrics and factors that contribute to my overall sleep hygiene.
MORE FROM SCOUTED:For me, the gradual temperature and vibrating alarm functions have been a godsend: I've tried almost every alarm system, and this is the only one that really works every time without being too aggressive or my partner (and my neighbors, for that matter!). Secondly, the ability to control the temperature on my side of the bed has also been life-changing and has almost completely eliminated my heat-induced waking in the middle of the night. Although the price may be high, those looking for optimal sleep quality may find it worth the heavy upfront investment.
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