From Elon Musk’s Twitter Feed, to the World’s Most Famous Podcast, to My YouTube Suggestions… Eight Sleep is Everywhere.
I first heard about this temperature-regulating mattress cover about a year ago when the tech bros were going nuts over it on Twitter because the most famous podcaster in the world called it a “f***ing game changer.” At the time I remember thinking, who would actually pay $2,000+ for a mattress cover?
But since then, Eight Sleep has continued to rack up praise not just from billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, but from everyday people just looking to improve their sleep and, as a result, their daily output. So, apparently, a lot of people would pay that much. But Eight Sleep recently rolled out their latest generation of the sleep system, the Pod 6, and it’s spreading like wildfire, even quicker than the previous. The Pod 6 starts at $1,999 for the Solo, and $2,899 for the Queen Dual Zone, and even though that’s the brand’s lowest starting price point ever… I wanted to find out if it was really worth that much.
I decided to do some recon on the customer reviews for the Pod 6 from everyday people like myself. (Unlike Elon Musk, I can’t be shelling out $2,900+ on a whim.) To save you time, I compiled the most informative reviews and broke them down into pros and cons. Let’s dive in.
First, a Brief Background on Eight Sleep
Eight Sleep is famous for its intelligent sleep system that gives you up to 32 minutes more sleep per night*. Since they launched their start-up idea in 2014, they’ve been racking up the press, the accolades, and the famous (and non-famous) user base.
Eight Sleep’s original mattress cover won the 2021 Men’s Health Sleep Award, was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions in 2019, and was called the “mattress of the future” by Newsweek. The new Pod 6 keeps the same groundbreaking Eight Sleep features like automatic temperature regulation from 55°F to 110°F, dual zones for partners, and a gentle-rise alarm. It also adds some big-time upgrades:
- 20% faster temperature relief
- 9x more biometric sensors for health tracking
- A Hub that’s half the size, fitting underneath most beds
- All-new Solo sizes if you don’t sleep with a partner
And that’s to name just a few. At its core, this intelligent sleep system is meant to make it easier to fall asleep, stay asleep, sleep deeper, and wake up without an alarm. Here’s what the people have to say about it.
“Eight Sleep Pod 6 – 1 Month Later: Changed How I Sleep”
Overview: This guy Andrew talks about how he’s been sleeping on Eight Sleep’s Pod for over 3 years (close to a thousand nights on Autopilot alone)… and after a full month testing the brand-new Pod 6 with his partner, he says it’s the most refined version of the product yet “by a long shot.” He claims that, with a hub that’s 50% smaller, a redesigned thermal engine, and 9x more biometric sensors, the Pod is smaller, faster, and smarter than ever.
Pros:
- Disappears from your bedroom: The new hub is 50% smaller, with the water reservoir hidden under a sliding lid instead of a bulky removable tank. For the first time, he can slide the entire thing under his bed frame and basically forget it exists.
- Two climates, one bed: He runs warm and likes his side cold, while his partner “apparently wants to sleep inside an oven.” With dual-zone control from 55°F to 110°F and a thermal engine that changes temperature 20% faster, they each sleep at their own perfect temperature.
- Sleep tracking with nothing on your wrist: With 9x more biometric sensors built into the cover, the Pod tracks heart rate, HRV, respiratory rate, and sleep stages, and he found the data impressively close to his dedicated Whoop band. His partner hates wearing a tracker to bed, so now she gets her own sleep score and personalized report without wearing anything at all.
- Set it and forget it: Autopilot learns how you sleep and adjusts each side’s temperature throughout the night. In his words, “I get into bed, and the temperature is already where I want it to be.”
- The proof is in the data: During a week with no Eight Sleep at all, his sleeping resting heart rate jumped roughly 20%, and he woke up running warm in the middle of the night. He says he could genuinely feel the difference the next morning.
Cons:
- The hub still has to sit upright, and there’s no voice control yet.
- The “strangest negative,” he admits, is that you get way too used to it. After 3 years, a normal bed feels “surprisingly primitive” whenever he travels. It’s almost like Eight Sleep is TOO good.
“Eight Sleep Pod 6 – Ultimate Scientific Review!”
Overview: In his review, The Quantified Scientist (Rob, a postdoctoral scientist who specializes in biological data analysis) put the new Eight Sleep Pod 6 up against lab-grade reference devices: an EEG headband, an ECG chest strap, and external temperature sensors. His data showed 96% agreement on deep sleep, 84% on REM, and about 80% on light sleep. That earned the Pod 6 a sleep score of 87, up from 77 for the Pod 5, and his highest “perfect” rating. In his words, “I cannot imagine better sleep stage tracking.” He still says the main reason he uses the Pod is that it keeps him cool in summer and cozy in winter, calling it “a major sleep improvement in my life.”
Pros:
- Among the best sleep tracking he’s tested: The Pod 6 ranks with the top performers out of every device he’s tested, and you don’t have to wear anything.
- Accurate heart rate and HRV: Both closely matched his ECG chest strap, and HRV accuracy improved over the Pod 5.
- Smaller hub, more power: The hub is half the size and fits under many bed frames. It also delivers 50%+ more maximum cooling power and a 20% faster temperature response.
- Built for couples: 9x more sensors help the Pod tell where one person ends and the other begins, even when you sleep close together.
- Full temperature immersion with the blanket, which he says made the cooling and heating feel much more efficient and evenly distributed.
- New biological age feature that turns your nightly data into one easy-to-track number.
Cons:
- Price: he admits it’s not cheap. It costs thousands of dollars, and there’s a subscription on top. He also wouldn’t upgrade from a Pod 5 if heating and cooling is all you care about. But if you’re new to Eight Sleep, he says the Pod 6 is a great recommendation, with even better tracking than before.
“I Slept on the NEW Eight Sleep Pod 6 for 7 Days”
Overview: Shervin Shares has slept on every Pod from the Pod 2 to the Pod 6, and he tests all the bed coolers and sleep trackers out there. He says the biggest upgrade this generation is the price: the new Solo option starts at $1,999, Eight Sleep’s lowest starting price ever, and saves you $700–800 if you only need cooling on your side of the bed. Add a hub that’s 50% smaller and much faster cooling, and he says if he were buying today, “I’d buy the solo right away.”
Pros:
- Shockingly fast: In his stopwatch tests, the Pod 6 went from its hottest setting to its coldest in 15–25 minutes. His tests on other devices took 45 minutes to an hour. “I was ready to be like, okay, it’s going to take me an entire day to run these tests, but it is extremely fast.”
- Smallest hub ever: It’s half the size of the Pod 5s, it looks “very stunning,” and it now fits under more bed frames.
- Tracking that matches his Oura Ring: His resting heart rate and HRV trends were “almost exactly the same,” and you don’t have to wear anything. He also loves the snoring tracking, sleep debt, and sleep consistency insights.
- Thicker, softer cover, so you can barely feel the tubing. The tactile buttons on the cover make it easy to adjust the temperature or snooze the alarm without grabbing your phone.
- Eight Sleep has been around the longest, and he calls it “definitely the number one in this space” when it comes to long-term credibility.
Cons:
- Not worth upgrading if you just bought a Pod 5.
- It’s an investment, and cooling uses electricity. He estimates about 80 cents a night in New York, but says he’s willing to pay it “because that’s how much better I sleep.“
It Seems Like the People Agree: Pod 6 Is Expensive But Can Be a Life-Changing Investment
If you’re in the market for drastically improved sleep, then this science-backed, temperature-regulating mattress cover might be your answer (especially with Eight Sleep’s latest upgrades). I guess there are more than a few valid reasons that everybody loves this thing, from the world’s top CEOs to average joes like me.
The main con I came across in these reviews was the overall price and the subscription price. But, based on the vibe I got from these reviews and my own perspective, I think it’s helpful to consider the monthly payment as subscribing to a new way of life (sleeping), rather than just having to break through a paywall. It also makes sense to me that Eight Sleep needs a way to offset what must be an enormous amount of money in R&D for a product this advanced.
It’s worth mentioning you can get the Pod 6 for $0 down followed by interest-free installments with Affirm¹—and they also offer free shipping and a 30-night, risk-free trial. So there’s no risk in trying it out for yourself.
*Based on Eight Sleep clinical studies. Individual results vary and may not be guaranteed.
◊Autopilot membership required.
¹Affirm: Financing rates are between 0-36% APR. Payment options through Affirm are subject to an eligibility check, may not be available everywhere, and are provided by these lending partners: affirm.com/lenders. See more on website.