High-tech mattress lets you set the temperature for your side of the bed

Smart homes are full of things that don’t really need to be smart—microwaves? Toasters? Mugs? Convenient, maybe, but not totally necessary.

If anything in our homes deserves some added intelligence, it should probably be our mattresses. Despite spending, on average, a third of their lives in bed, people ultimately have little control over what they sleep on. Sure, you can choose between firm and soft, pillow-top or memory foam, but one-size-fits-all comfort doesn’t exist (as anyone who sleeps with another human can confirm).

Photo: Eight Sleep

That’s where sleep tech company Eight Sleep comes in with the The Pod, a recently launched product that aims to give people more control over the feel of their mattress. The connected device—yes, your mattress is now a device—allows two people to set different temperature preferences for their side of the bed that range form 55 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo: Eight Sleep

The bed, which starts at $1,995 for a full, has four layers, including what Eight Sleep describes as an “active grid” that regulates heat on both sides of the bed via an app or remote. The grid is connected to a mini computer called the “hub” that captures data including respiratory rate, heart rate, temperature, and sleep phases and uses it to create customized sleep fitness reports and adapt to your sleep preferences.

If it all sounds like a little bit of overkill, just wait. There’s also the option to connect your mattress to Hue lights and other “smart” products including a coffee maker. Of course, no one needs a mattress that helps them automatically brew coffee, but hey, this is the future.