This device promises to optimise sleep, and we find out if it actually works.
If you asked me how I was sleeping, I’d laugh first, then maybe cry a little, because honestly, I haven’t had proper sleep since 2019. You know those memes that say, “The last time I slept well was in my mother’s womb”? That’s me.
Sleep isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. The world record for going without sleep is 264 hours, precisely 11 days, but science says our bodies start malfunctioning after just 24 hours without rest. And yet, like many mothers, I power through on an average of four hours of broken sleep a night. Between pregnancy-induced heartburn, a C-section recovery with zero village — thanks to the pandemic — full-time work, school pick-ups, and playing chef, driver, and homemaker, sleep was the one thing I sacrificed — and still do. Voluntarily at first. Begrudgingly later.
I used to pride myself on pulling all-nighters as a teen. Going 26 hours straight without sleep during IGCSEs was easy. But it turns out, a 30-year-old body juggling real adulting responsibilities doesn’t bounce back the same way.
So when I heard about Eight Sleep, I was intrigued. This smart, temperature-regulating, sleep-optimising mattress cover promises to improve your sleep. And when it costs over AED 10,000, you’d hope it does more than just lie there.
Eight Sleep is basically a tech upgrade for your bed. While the Pod 5 is now available for purchase across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I tried the Pod 4. This water-based cooling and heating smart topper fits over your existing mattress. It connects to a hub that sits beside your bed and regulates your bed’s temperature, sleep stages, heart rate, HRV (heart rate variability), room temperature and humidity. It even measures how much you snore.
Standout features
One of the product’s standout features is dual-zone temperature control, which lets you and your partner set completely different temperatures on either side of the bed. So if you love a cool, cosy sleep environment while your partner prefers it warm and toasty, this feature helps avoid those nightly thermostat battles.
The device also comes with sleep tracking sensors embedded in the cover itself, so there’s no need to wear anything on your body. It automatically tracks your sleep stages, tosses and turns, heart rate, respiratory rate, and even your room’s ambient conditions.
Another addition is the smart wake-up alarm, which uses a gentle rise in temperature and low-level vibrations to wake you up during your lightest sleep phase, helping you feel more refreshed. All of these features are easily managed through the Eight Sleep app, where you can set your preferences and monitor your sleep metrics.
First impressions
With all these promises, I decided to put it to the test. I set it up in our bedroom and braced myself — either for magic or a major letdown. Installation took about 45 minutes, which was a bit of a workout but also pretty straightforward. The mattress cover connects via tubes to the hub, which then gets filled with distilled water — which powers the temperature control. Due to its weight, the installation is definitely a two-person job.
Once it’s installed and covered with your regular bedsheet, you can’t feel the tubes at all. The finish is soft, smooth, and completely sleep-friendly — if anything, it actually makes your bed feel a bit more plush thanks to that extra cushioned layer.
I’m one of those people who like the room slightly cool but can’t stand climbing into a cold bed — it’s a weird balance. So the option to pre-warm my side of the bed before getting in was an absolute win. I set it to my preferred temperature, slipped under the covers, and got cosy in no time — tucked in like a burrito with just my head and one hand sticking out to hold my phone for a bit of pre-sleep doomscrolling.
The human factor
While Eight Sleep is designed to improve sleep, there are still a few human factors that no fancy gadget can fix. You still need to get into bed at a reasonable hour because the pod doesn’t come with a feature that physically yanks your phone out of your hand. I gave it a fair shot over 30 days, and if I’m being honest, the first night was a disaster. I was more restless than usual, waking up constantly. But that wasn’t Eight Sleep’s fault. I blame my anxiety. Sleeping on a mattress cover plugged into an electric socket with water flowing through its tubes sounds dangerous. I’ve watched enough Final Destination movies to be worried that I’d be electrocuted during my slumber. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. The system is incredibly safe and built to run quietly in the background.
Speaking of quiet — this device is completely silent, which honestly surprised me. The Pod looks a bit like a CPU, and given its size, I expected it to whirr like a generator, but there was not a single peep.
Monitoring
The handy app provides a daily Sleep Fitness Score, offering an analysis of your overall sleep quality. While my scores typically ranged between 65 and 75 out of 100 — which falls below the ideal range of 80 to 100 — they were still better than I had expected. On one particular night, I managed to score an 81, with a 96% sleep quality rating. I had slept just under six hours, fell asleep in approximately 19 minutes (well within the healthy range of under 30 minutes), and my heart rate and breathing rate were both in the optimal range. No snoring was detected, and I logged 70 minutes of deep sleep and 77 minutes of REM sleep. Interestingly, this standout night happened to be on a Monday.
Observations
So did Eight Sleep hack my sleep? Honestly, it’s not a miracle cure, but it’s an effective external tool I’ve used to get better rest. While I still need to do my part, like getting into bed on time, the temperature regulation has improved the quality of my sleep. I wake up less frequently during the night, and although I’m still not hitting a full eight hours, I do wake up with a restorative feeling.
Bonus tip: To elevate your nighttime routine, pair your matress setup with the Bon Charge Red Light Therapy Mask before bed. While red light therapy has become a popular treatment in salons and spas, its real power lies in consistent, regular use, making an at-home device a more convenient option. After just 10 minutes a night with the mask, I began to notice my skin feeling relatively tighter and fresher.
The verdict
Even a small improvement feels huge when juggling work, home, and parenting. And if you want real magic to happen, you need a good sleep routine. And most importantly, don’t obsess over the sleep data because it’s there to guide you instead of guilt you.
If you’re in a phase of life where sleep feels like a dream and you’ve got some spare cash to splurge, Eight Sleep could be a helpful tool. Think of it as an investment, not just in tech, but in your overall wellbeing. While it won’t magically fix all your sleep problems, it does create the ideal conditions for better rest.
GO: Visit www.eightsleep.com for more information.