Be it night sweats, a snoring partner or health curiosity, there are many reasons why you might be considering investing in a smart bed. Complete with state-of-the-art technology, you can't be surprised that smart bed systems come with a hefty price tag, even after discounts are applied.
But sleeping on the best mattress for your sleep style and body type is sure to bring you blissful rest. And if you have particular difficulties sleeping, a specialized smart bed with world-class technology may be just what the sleep doctor ordered.
I've tested a leading smart mattress, researched sleep tech and tracked smart bed deals over the past six months, learning exactly what a smart bed can offer and who they can help. Here's what you should know before making the big purchase in the Presidents' Day mattress sales...
What is a smart bed?
We categorize the best smart beds as bed bases, mattress covers or complete AI mattresses that use high-end technology to help you sleep. They are designed to allow you to customize your bed through adjustable positioning, customizable firmness levels and climate control systems. Plus they use sensors to track your sleep and various aspects of your health to respond to your sleep needs.
Working to improve your sleep quality and quantity, they track your heart rate, breathing, body temperature, movement and sleep cycles. Smart beds can also calculate your bedtime, wake-up time and sleeping position and provide personalized sleep reports.
These beds are either fully app-controlled, remote-controlled or use a mix of both, offering manual and responsive mattress customization.
5 things to consider before buying your first smart bed
1. What's your budget?
Laced with cutting-edge technology and designed by leading sleep scientists, no smart bed is particularly cheap. That said, there is a broad price range out there including more budget friendly options.
Smart beds range in price from just under $600 (Sleep Number's most affordable model, the c1 smart mattress, starts at $599 MSRP) to over $18,000 — a split California king Tempur-ActiveBreeze smart bed will set you back a whopping $18,596 at MSRP. Hence they are investment purchases so you’ll want to be sure you’re getting good value for money.
Sleep Number is best known for its affordable smart bed options. Their entry-level smart mattress range goes up to $1,899 for a 9" tall queen size. For this you will get manual and automatic adjustable firmness and in-bed sleep tracking, but no smart climate control.
This sits around the same price point as our #1 mattress of the year, the Saatva Classic, which is a luxury mattress that comes in two heights (11.5" or 14.5") and three comfort levels (plush soft, luxury firm and firm). Ultimately, you must ask yourself what you can afford and what you want to receive from it. Do you want to prioritize sink-in, luxury comfort or high-end sleep tracking technology? You can get both, but it will cost you.
2. What sleep woes are you hoping to tackle?
Different smart beds have different specialities tackling various sleep disruptors. For example, Eight Sleep specialize in dual, active temperature regulation. Their pods have a water-based thermal control system that tracks and responds to your body temperature through the night to keep you at an optimal sleep temp. This is a dream for hot sleepers plagued by night sweats or hot flushes looking for the best cooling mattresses.
Meanwhile, all Sleep Number smart beds excel in dual adjustable firmness, meaning you can customize the feel of them, making them a good option for people with sensitive joints that need extra pressure relief or couples with different body weights and sleep styles.
Smart beds with adjustable head positioning like the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Ergo smart base can mitigate snoring and even help you manage symptoms of sleep apnea. Undoubtedly, a smart bed is a worthy investment if your partner's snoring is sending you towards a sleep divorce.
Additionally, lined with sleep tracking sensors in contact with every part of your body, smart beds are said to give the most accurate sleep metrics, which is great for anyone looking to get really clued up on their sleep health. But if you just want to get an insight into how day-to-day lifestyle choices affect your sleep quality, a wearable sleep tracker like a smart watch or the Oura Ring are the next best options.
3. Do you want to keep your existing mattress or replace it?
Many ‘smart beds’ aren’t actually complete mattresses but rather mattress covers or bed bases that fit over or sit under a separate or existing mattress. For example, Eight Sleep pods are smart mattress covers that fit over 10" to 16" mattresses, while the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Ergo is a smart base that fits between a mattress and bed frame.
This means you need to pair these smart bed components with a top-performing mattress to get the most benefit, comfort and support from them. Your existing mattress might do the trick if it is within its 10 year life span, but if your mattress is getting lumpy and bumpy or sagging, you should take these as signs that it needs upgrading. Of course, this incurs an extra cost alongside your smart bed.
Alternatively, you can get all smart features wrapped up in a complete new mattress if you're willing to fork out just short of $4,700 on the Bryte Balance smart bed and adjustable base set up.
4. Are you willing to pay a subscription fee?
Some leading smart beds like Eight Sleep require you to pay an additional subscription fee to access all features. The Eight Sleep subscription fee starts at $17 per month and allows you to access sleep tracking metrics and reports and set a sleep schedule to make use of the vibration alarm feature.
Without this subscription, you can only adjust the temperature of the bed. In which case, you'd be better off buying a much cheaper cooling mattress pad like Sleep Number's DualTemp Layer ($999 now and if you buy one you get one 50% off). Ultimately, an Eight Sleep pod isn't worth the costs if you don't have this subscription. So, if this celebrity-adorned smart bed is the one you want, you'll need to factor in a mattress subscription to your list of monthly bills.
5. Are you confident using a smart phone?
Most smart beds (with the exception of the Saatva Solaire, our recommended smart bed for back pain and seniors) are operated via a compatible app where you can access your sleep metrics and sleep coaching features. Hence, we advise you only invest in a smart bed if you are tech-savvy enough to manage smart phone software, Bluetooth connectivity and the occasional, inevitable technical hiccup.
It's also worth considering whether you are comfortable with your mattress collecting and storing your personal data and sleep health metrics. Remember it will track everything from your overnight breathing rate to your sleep schedule. And you will need to give personal details when making an account with your chosen sleep tech brand.
Is Presidents' Day a good time to buy a smart bed?
Smart bed mattress sales coincide with usual mattress sales we see throughout the year, meaning Presidents' Day is in fact one of the best times to buy a smart bed. That said, current discounts aren't quite as sweet as those we saw around Black Friday.
Nonetheless, leading smart bed retailers, including Tempur-Pedic, Eight Sleep and Sleep Number, have sales live right now. Tempur-Pedic mattress sales are knocking up to $1,000 off their premium smart beds, the Eight Sleep mattress sales are offering savings of up to $150 and the Sleep Number sales are slashing a huge $3,799 off select mattresses.
3 smart bed deals to shop this Presidents' Day
