We obviously live in a technologically advanced era, even if we haven’t yet reached the point of jetpacks or flying automobiles. Everywhere you look, you’ll see smart devices ranging from cars to refrigerators to coffee machines. So why wouldn’t you expect to see a smart bed as well?
In recent years, the mattress business has also seen a wave of innovation in the form of smart mattresses. These beds incorporate various technologies to provide sleepers with the best rest possible. As a result, there are many choices on the market today, and each offers something special.
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Why Smart Beds Are Worth It
One of the most vital factors in your overall health is the amount of quality sleep you obtain. You are more likely to be active during the day and to feel fantastic if you get better quality of sleep. So, if you’re having difficulty getting through the day, it may be time to track your sleep habits.
Such technology has been integrated into a range of products, including fitness trackers and biometric sensors that you place under your bed. Still, mattress makers are also incorporating smart features into the bed itself. As a result, it’s the one technology that all smart beds have in common.
Why is it Better to Buy a Mattress with Sleep Tracking Technology Built-In?
Buying a mattress with built-in advanced technology is preferable to one of those third-party devices. To begin with, they are more precise. But, aside from the fact that they’re positioned under your mattress, third-party gadgets can’t account for all the variations in construction.
It’s also worth noting that the cheapest smart mattresses aren’t that much more expensive than a “dumb” mattress with add-ons, and they come with more features than sleep trackers.
What is a Smart Bed?
Smart beds and smart mattresses are the same things. They employ the newest technology to track your sleep, manage your in-bed temperature (cooling and heating), change the bed’s firmness, massage, and more – all to meet comfort demands. In addition, the most extraordinary smart beds can help you understand what’s happening with your sleep and how to improve it.
Most smart beds use air or water to adjust firmness. Some may be modified so you can sit in bed or raise your head to relieve snoring, acid reflux, or back pain. The greatest smart beds have zero gravity presets and massage functions to calm your body.
Typical Smart Bed Features
Smart mattresses are a new and fast-emerging category without a clear definition. Nevertheless, these beds often have many technologies and features, so it’s clearly not your typical mattress.
Some of the most common features include:
Body and Environmental Monitoring
Smart mattresses monitor the body and environment. For example, using sensors, the bed can measure your movement, heart rate, breathing, and temperature. In addition, it can monitor bedroom temperature, noise, and light.
Sleep Tracking
Built-in sensors calculate your bedtime, wake-up time, sleep interruptions, and sleeping positions. Unique algorithms use this data to assess sleep quality and amount. As a result, they can provide you with an objective assessment of your sleep cycle and how well you’re sleeping. In addition, connected sleep applications offer sleep coaching to help you use the data to improve your rest quality.
Mattress Customization
Traditional beds aren’t customizable, but smart mattresses are. For example, in a smart airbed, the firmness level can be modified using an app or a remote. In addition, smart temperature management can prevent the bed from getting excessively hot or cold mattresses.
Automatic Adjustments
Smart mattresses can automatically modify settings during the night. For example, using sensor data and software, the bed can adjust firmness or temperature without waking you up to ensure you stay asleep. These automatic adjustments help you sleep through the night.
Audio Features
Special audio settings include alarms, soothing noises, meditation programs, and home stereo connections. These can make your bedroom more soothing and sleep-friendly.
Connectivity to Other Apps
Smart mattresses that connect to WiFi can combine with apps. Google Home and Amazon Alexa connectivity are popular features because they offer voice-activated mattress adjustments. Smart beds can also be linked to other WiFi-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices, like your thermostat. As IoT software develops, smart mattresses may become increasingly connected.
How Do You Pick Which Smart Bed is Best for You?
Customization is a big draw for customers when considering smart mattresses. A smart bed that adapts to your individual needs is a welcome change from the classic mattress paradigm. Still, smart shoppers realize that not all smart mattresses are created equal, so choosing correctly is key to finding one you enjoy. In addition, because the smart mattress industry is so active, it’s crucial to compare prices, features, materials, and performance.
And just in case you’re skeptical (they are expensive enough to second guess leaping), most smart mattresses allow you to sample them at home and return them if you’re unsatisfied. A 100-night sleep trial is typical for internet mattresses. Mark the end date of the sleep trial in your calendar. A mattress warranty covers flaws but not typical wear-and-tear or accidental damage like spills. Some smart mattresses have varying technical warranty terms, so read the fine print.
Things to Seek in a Smart Bed
Smart mattress marketing can be hype-filled. Unfortunately, the hype might lead customers astray in some circumstances. Keep these crucial elements in mind as you consider your options.
Features
A smart bed should have features not present in an ordinary mattress. If you’re data-driven, biometric monitoring and sleep tracking may be the most significant. If you value customization, automation, or app connectivity, look for those capabilities.
Price
Your budget is vital when buying any mattress, but it’s critical with smart beds due to their higher cost. Consider your budget and eliminate expensive options first, then check the features of the ones you can afford.
Sleeping Position
Sleeping position affects mattress choice. Side sleepers need more softness and conformation than back and stomach sleepers. Look for a mattress that fits your resting posture.
Contouring
The mattress conforms to the body’s weight and pressure. Effective contouring promotes spinal alignment by supporting each body part. Some smart beds use contouring memory foam or zoned materials.
Quality Materials
Layers and materials should be considered. For long-term performance and durability, the entire mattress must be well-built.
Firmness Level
Firmness is a significant comfort aspect. Weight and sleeping position affect firmness preferences, although they’re subjective. Smart mattresses with adjustment and customization are best for firmness and flexibility.
Pressure Relief
Getting the appropriate support around pressure points might help you wake up pain-free. A tremendous smart mattress should tolerate hot spots without sagging. Smart automation and customization improve pressure relief.
Motion Isolation
Sharing a bed doesn’t have to entail being kept awake by your partner’s movements. Motion-isolated mattresses let you sleep soundly because memory foam and other mattress components reduce motion transfer.
Ease of Movement / Sex
The rigidity can be unpleasant. It can make sleeping and sex difficult. A springier mattress eases movement. In addition, latex, coils, and adjustable beds allow smoother movement.
Edge Support
Stability around the mattress’s edge lets you use its entire surface when sleeping or sitting. Foam edge support is the worst. Reinforced edges can strengthen any mattress’s structure.
Temperature Regulation
Being excessively hot or cold can impair sleep; thus, many smart mattresses have temperature regulation. These characteristics range from breathable fabrics to technologies that modify the mattress or bedroom temperature dependent on your body’s temperature (as detected by in-bed sensors).
Noise
A silent mattress prevents nighttime waking. While most beds on the market are quiet, smart components, such as built-in pumps, must be noise-free.
Some of Today’s Popular Smart Bed Options
ReST, Sleep Number, and Eight Sleep are likely the best-known smart mattress manufacturers, but there are many others. Listed below are today’s most popular choices.
Eight Sleep Pod Pro Mattress
You’re not alone if you’re squirming at the price of today’s new mattresses. However, when you include smart technology, the figures can skyrocket, which is one of the reasons our Eight Sleep Pod Pro mattress is so astounding. It’s relatively inexpensive compared to many competitors, yet it still has a lot of sleeping tracking capabilities.
The mattress is 12 inches deep and comprises five layers of foam. Each bedside has its own cooling and heating zone you can regulate through an app. Each side also has its own sleep tracking to compute sleep stages, restlessness, time slept, and more.
Daily Health checks and HRV Monitoring are also included. The Pod Pro measures your respiratory rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and other wellness parameters to detect any health issues.
According to Eight Sleep’s official press release, the Pod is “the first bed to integrate dynamic temperature regulation, physiological tracking, smart home integrations, and sleep coaching.
The Eight Sleep Pod Pro is packed with technology to help you and your companion sleep properly. It’s challenging to obtain the proper temperature in bed; if you’re too hot or too cold, you’ll wake up frequently at night. The Eight Sleep Pod Pro solves this with dual-zone cooling and heating, allowing you to adjust either side of the smart bed to temperatures ranging from 55°F to 110°F and establish bespoke heating and cooling regimens.
Furthermore, the smart mattress features Smart Temp Autopilot, in which environmental sensors assess the room temperature and humidity, and the Pod Pro automatically cools or heats your bed to match.
Another fantastic feature: the GentleRise smart alarm can discreetly wake you up with chest-level vibrations and gentle temperature changes that may be considerably more comfortable than a standard alarm.
Sleep Number 360 c2 Smart Bed
This Sleep Number mattress may be a good option if you don’t want many sleep features but still want simple, easy-to-follow tracking. It’s cheap but has many user-friendly features that aren’t difficult to comprehend. For example, the mattress calculates your “SleepIQ” score based on how well you sleep over time. So you can tell if you’re sleeping better if your score goes up. In addition, the app will provide customized recommendations to help you learn how to sleep better over time.
When your smart mattress arrives, Sleep Number specialists will either link it to your WiFi, or you can connect it to the SleepIQ app yourself. Then, each night, the bed will collaborate with the app to provide a unique sleep score, along with recommendations for establishing the optimum sleep routine to improve your sleep quality.
In addition to the two inches of foam used for comfort, the mattress has an eight-inch air chamber layer with a pump, allowing you to regulate firmness on each side separately. You can also just let the bed modify its firmness automatically in reaction to your in-bed movements.
If you’re unsure whether an air mattress is right for you, there’s a 100-night trial period during which you may return the model for a refund if you don’t like it.
The Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed is also ideal for hot sleepers, thanks to its breathable Smart 3D fabric. The mattress absorbs excess heat and then releases it as you cool down, ensuring a perfectly balanced sleep temperature. The temperature significantly impacts how well you sleep; therefore, this is a crucial design consideration.
When you pair the i8 Smart Bed with a FlexFit base, you can enjoy a choice of adjustable head and foot positions. For example, raising your legs relieves pressure, while raising your head and upper torso can aid digestion and minimize snoring if you sleep on your side.
ReST Original Smart Bed
While some smart mattresses are supposed to be simple, ReST wants to provide you with as many options as possible. The 4-inch layer of memory foam infused with cooling gels seems standard at first, with air chambers and vented upholstery. But on the inside, there is a bewildering assortment of cutting-edge technology to improve your sleep quality.
The ReST Essential mattress is constructed of three layers, the top of which is 4″ of cooling, gel-infused memory foam. If you’re familiar with the best memory foam mattresses, you’ll know that this material is excellent for shaping the body and easing high-impact pressure points. In addition, it’s incredible at reducing motion transfer from you to your partner because it’s so cradling.
Underneath this layer are the sensors, essential for recording various elements of your sleep and how you move in bed. For example, the ReST Essential smart bed sends a real-time body pressure map to the accompanying app when in Automatic Mode. Then, as you shift positions in bed, the sensors analyze pressure points on the mattress, pumping air in or out to swiftly adjust the firmness for your body weight and sleep position. Then, simply select a general comfort setting (from soft to hard) on the app, and the smart bed will do the rest. Because pressure pain is a significant sleep disruptor, this technology could be the solution to your sleep comfort.
ReST uses a five-zone pressure system for the head, shoulders, lumbar region, hips, and legs. Using an app, you may fine-tune each one until you discover the optimum configuration (each side of the body has its independent system), making it perfect for combination sleepers. However, suppose you don’t want to fiddle with it. In that case, you may set it to auto-adjust, which will modify itself based on your movements and position throughout the night, or you can select from various general sleep cycle objectives.
Nightvision, the bed’s built-in sleep monitoring system, is another option. Using this, you can track your sleep stages and when they occur throughout the night, check your overall nightly sleep score, and report your respiration and body movement. The app is simple and provides a wealth of information regarding sleep stages, precise movements, and more.
Position Mode is another option. Here, you can program settings for your three body zones across two distinct sleeping positions (for example, back and side) so the bed understands how to adjust when you change positions. This is ideal for people who sleep in both positions. Alternatively, select Manual Mode and tailor the pressure release and stiffness to your desires if you prefer to be in control. You can experiment with 64,000 firmness combinations on each side in manual mode.
On each side of the bed, the third layer of this smart mattress features five air chambers. These are placed in specific zones (to target different regions of your body) and are operated by quiet mini-pumps. The ReST Essential comes with a 90-night mattress trial, so you’ll have a few months to see if it genuinely improves your sleep.
Ghost SmartBed with 3D Matrix
Gel memory foam and an odd-looking polymer layer atop Ghost’s 12-inch mattress enable you to find the most comfortable settings possible. You may modify them between stiff and plush options, or you can let the bed choose for you based on how you sleep.
Five body zones can be tinkered with on the mattress, just like ReST’s. Each zone offers 40 different options. Switching to a general position or automatic mode is also an option if this seems like too much work. You may find additional tracking options in the companion app, including the ability to monitor your sleep stages, as well as the ability to measure how restless you are, and more.
Smart Products to Make a Normal Mattress Like a Smart Bed
Smart beds offer a way to use technology to improve sleep, but they’re not the only option. If you’re not ready for a smart bed, try these alternatives:
Smart Cover
A smart cover has built-in sensors to track sleep data. You just put it over your standard mattress, like sheets.
Temperature Control System
Various technologies are available for controlling the temperature of your bed, including systems that use heated or cooled water or air circulated through a layer that fits under your covers.
Sleep Trackers
Various sleep trackers exist. Wearables, bedside gadgets, and smartphone apps are examples.
Wake-up Alarm Clock
These alarm clocks progressively get brighter and louder as morning approaches so that you wake up gently and gradually.
In Conclusion
Now that you know practically everything about smart beds and smart mattress accessories, you’re well-equipped to go shopping for the ultimate sleeping equipment. Spending money on ways to get the best sleep possible every night is perhaps the best investment for optimal health and quality of life.
