Eight Sleep Pod 5 Review 2026: Is it Actually Worth $3,000+ (with discount)?

Hey everyone, I'm Cheryl McColgan, founder of Heal, Nourish, Grow. Today we are back in my room to unbox a product that I've been wanting to try for a very long time, and that is the Eight Sleep. So as if you've been on this channel before, we talk about all things health and wellness. I test a lot of wearables. You can see I got the Whoop, I got the Oura Ring, but a lot of this I use to compare to, you know, different things that I try for sleep or for workout optimization, things like that. So sleep is a huge part of that. And so for years I've used the Chili Pad and the OOLER and the latest version, which is the Dock. And that's a different company, different product. The Eight Sleep is also— has great cooling and heating technology that you add to your current mattress. But my current review, I only had the experience with the Chili Pad Dock, and I never had the actual Eight Sleep before. So it was all based on research, the comparison, and it wasn't a real-world comparison. So now I will have that data for you as well. So what I'm doing today is actually unboxing the Eight Sleep. I wanted to go ahead and get it on camera so you can see how easy or not easy it is to see how we can get the app set up and all that good stuff so that you can see the full experience. So the only thing that I've done at this point is cut the straps off the boxes. It comes in two boxes, and this is for a king-size bed. So we'll go ahead and get started here and get the unboxing done. So this is the biggest one. This is actually the COVID and it's heavy, but it's not terrible. Um, but basically I'm going to go ahead and get that out of here so you can see exactly what you get. So it comes with this nice bag. I guess you could potentially travel with it, although this would be a pretty large bag to travel. But I will say, whenever I do travel, I definitely miss having my cooling pad on the bed. It just makes everything so much more comfortable. Or if you use, you know, a gentle warming to wake you up in the morning, that is really nice too. So I think I'll need the scissors again for this part and go ahead and cut this open. Actually, it does have a spot that says tear here, so we'll try to do that first. And seems a lot thicker than the Dock Pad so far. So if you want to look at that, I have a whole video where I unboxed that as well. So you can see here it says this side face down, so that's good. And then the cords go near the top, so we'll just have to rotate this around. Yeah, this is a lot heavier and a lot thicker than the Dock, just something to be aware of. We'll have to see how that works in practice. It does have the very deep pockets just like the Dock, so we'll go ahead and start putting that on here. I'm seeing there's also this built-in up and down button on the side. This actually says top left corner, so there's no confusion about where you are putting the pad. So this side also has an up and down button, and I'm already thinking that that is a really nice feature over the other brand just because there's occasionally during the night, say you get too cold, the only way to operate the Dock is with your app on your phone, which number one, you probably should not have your phone in your room if you're going for optimal sleep. I always have mine on red light during the evening because, or in the night too, so if I wake up and I do need to adjust the bed temperature for any reason, I can easily do that with my phone without getting blue light in my eyes. But it is an app-based thing, so this is kind of nice because you could potentially just reach down next to you and adjust the bed by a couple of degrees. But supposedly the Eight Sleep does not need that because it is much more of a smart bed that adjusts to your temperature during the night. So obviously we'll have to see if that holds true. But getting on this cover has been super easy. Now I just have to get this down behind the back of the bed here. And it looks like we'll need to plug this into the base unit at some point. But this is probably the hardest part of the whole thing if you're doing this by yourself, is getting the cord behind the bed. And then once you have this part finished. You'll just want to make sure that it's not twisted and that you get that— there's a hard little edge in here. You're going to get that to the top of the bed. Okay, so hang on to this. The second part of the bed is the unit that actually controls the heating and cooling. And on the dock, it was actually two units and they are low profile so that they can go underneath of the bed. And I know with this one, from what I'd read and researched before, that this is taller. It really can't fit under most beds. So if the aesthetics of having something out in the open really bother you, then you might want to consider the other version. But it's really not a bad looking unit. So I wouldn't be too concerned about having that out in the room. And plus, in this particular room, I'm on the far side of the bed. It can be on my side. And when you walk in from the door, you're never going to see it anyway. So I don't really feel like that should be too much of a concern, but it is something to note about this particular product. And get this plugged in in the back. And I see the USB slot for that other piece. This is just some silica keeping things dry. Not going to do this until I actually read some instructions. I have a feeling that this could be something to drain the unit or something like that. So because the hoses go directly on there, so definitely hold on to that. And then I will bring this around and give you a better view of what's happening over here. Okay, so here you can see the unit and the cord. So we'll go ahead and finish this up. And this, you can see, has the holes that attach to the back of the unit. Let's put this up here so that I can show you that. So here's the part that attaches to the base, and it says this side down, so that's handy. Doing this with actually no instructions, which I don't recommend— it's always best to read them, but somehow I tend to skip over that part. So go ahead and slide this on, and that was a nice click. Got the this side down part happening there, and then the USB port is just right next to that. So here we have— I'll just look up what this actually is, but there is a button here that looks like some kind of fuse that just kind of snaps right in place. And then we'll take this and put it where it's going to live now. So it'll just be right next to the bed. Where again, like I said, in this particular setup, it's not really going to be showing. It's going to be right here next to the bed, and then we'll plug it in. Okay, so it took me a bit of rearranging, but ultimately I went with having the unit on the side of the nightstand because it was too— a little sticking out a little bit too much right at the head of the bed there. And I think for just visual purposes, having it on this side will be in a little bit better of a spot. So now let's go ahead and just see if we can figure out what the deal with the app is and the pairing. Okay, so now I'm going to work on the app. Let's get that downloaded and we'll see how we go about the next part of this. So as I'm going through the app, it's just asking me which version I have with the Pod 5, and then now it's asking me if I had both boxes, because yes, you do get two boxes. And actually, it's interesting because one of my boxes came two days before the other one, so you'll definitely want to make sure that you have both of them. And then next on the thing, it says cover setup. We're going to set up the hub and it's saying that it's control center, controls the temperature, blah, blah, blah. So we unpacked the box, we picked the side of the bed, we already plugged it in, and then you just have to be within 10 feet of your hub until the network setup is complete. And I'm actually thinking the power over here is not on yet because it's not glowing. So that just was my surge protector wasn't actually on since I rearranged everything. So I just turned it on and it is now glowing blue at the bottom. And so it just says stay near your hub, stay stand within 10 feet. I'm probably within 3, so that should be plenty close. And now we're just waiting for it to detect the hub. Okay, now I have to grant Bluetooth permission, which I've said allow, and then continue. It wanted to know if it's flashing blue, which it is now. And so it's pairing to the phone, searching for Wi-Fi networks, and asking me to put in my Wi-Fi password, and now it says getting hub online. I'm feeling the bed vibrate a little bit, so it is setting up both the COVID and the hub, and it just says do not close the app. Hub online, finish. So that's pretty easy. Give your pod a name, name it Solitude, after one of my favorite snowboard places. And now it says the hub setup is complete. So now we're going to go to the COVID setup, and it just says it tracks all of your biometrics while dynamically heating and cooling. So here is the part where the technology is a little bit different than the, um, ChiliSleep, the one I was talking about before, the Dock Pro. So it says remove all bedding, and now it's just going through the part about putting it on, which we already did all of that. And it asks us to check that the water cord is lying flat against the bed because it won't operate if it's kinked. So that's why I took the time back there to do that. And then ensure that the maintenance insert loaded on the water cord is secured. So that maintenance insert is what I took out earlier. And then route the cord to the hub, which we already did. Connect the hub in the USB. And now we should be good to go. So now it says let's fill the pod. So now we're going to circulate water to enable the healing and cooling. So we're going to go ahead and do the water tank. And before I do this, I just want to check the connections one more time before we put water in it, just to make sure that everything is good to go. So this is actually— I don't even think this one comes off. This one was already— well, it might, it has some clips, but but this was already all attached when I got it, so that all looks very secure. And then I'm just going to check the back of the hub again. And let's go ahead and fill the water. So I already have my distilled water over here. I usually keep some in the room to refill my previous cooling. And this one has a lot larger of a reservoir, so that's nice. Probably because on the other one, each side had its own dock, and so you're only filling for one person on each side. But this one takes care of both sides, so it makes sense that this would need some more water. Okay, tank has been filled. Let's hit continue and then insert the tank, which we did. Okay, there we go. It says pod is filling. Enable notifications to get alerted when your pod is ready to continue. So it's, um, counting down that it's going to take about 5 minutes for this process to finish. So I'll go ahead and come back after that's finished. Okay, so the fill-up process actually did take a little more than 5 minutes. You have to fill the reservoir a couple of times, but basically we're at the point now where it is fully set up. And so I'm just going back into the app, and it says, "Smarter sleep starts here. The Pod learns your body's patterns and adjusts temperature to help you sleep better. Your Pod has tiny, invisible built-in sensors that track your sleep. Let's calibrate them now." So, um, it says lay down and gently rock side to side. So even though I don't have the sheets on, we'll go ahead and do this. Well, something just moved in the app, so hopefully something's happening. I think it's just looking for some movement, obviously. Calibration complete. Okay, now it's a little— I don't know if it's thinking or if it's stuck. It just changed the graphic again though, and now we can continue. And it says, temperature is key to great sleep. Too hot or too cold, it can wake you up or directly affect sleep. This is definitely true because I've noticed with my other unit that sometimes there is a programmable thing in it where you can tell it which temperature related to what time of night, but if you happen to get a little too cold or too warm, it definitely wakes you up and you have to adjust it. This says, creates the perfect microclimate, uses a temperature scale from very cold to very warm. And move on to the next screen. And then it's saying, cooling to -5 is like slipping into cool crisp sheets on a warm night. Warming is like snuggling into a toasty bed. So that's the 5-degree variance. And just again, moving through screens in the app, I guess I could show you that, obviously. And control temperature your way. Use the tap to change temperature anytime with simple controls. I'm thinking that's the thing that was on the side of the bed. Or go phone-free and use the button on the side of the COVID to control temperature. So it wants me to try now. So press and hold the minus button to decrease temperature by one level. Okay, so that worked. And then warm up, press and hold the plus button for 1 second to increase the temperature. And as I'm pressing the button, it's changing the number on the app so that you can see that it actually did something, which it did move 1 degree in either direction. And then it says, when you go to sleep, Autopilot gets to work and controls the pod's temperature in 2 ways while you sleep. And next screen, personalized schedule cools and warms through phases which are based on your sleep cycle. I must think I'm a slow reader because it will not move to the next screen very quickly. Um, and then real-time smart adjustments. Autopilot also responds to many different factors while you sleep, such as changes to your sleep stages or room temperature. And then ready to experience tonight on autopilot. So toggled it on, and let's prepare for your first night's sleep. An hour before you get into bed, your Pod will start preparing your ideal sleep environment. So what time do I typically get in bed? Early, unfortunately. Um, 8:30 or 9. I'm gonna go ahead and set this for— since it said an hour ahead, I'm going to set it for 8:45. I would say typically I am always in bed by that time. And then what time do I usually— oh, this was— sorry, that was for Monday through Friday. And then on the weekend, yes, typically a little later. So I'll go ahead and say 9 o'clock on this one. And these are all things that you can adjust later, obviously. Um, so again, waiting for the app tonight. It'll learn as you sleep, it tracks your heart rate, sleep cycles, and more. And when I finally get to go to the next screen— Daylight on the app, a better way to wake up, combines temperature and vibration for the perfect wake-up experience. So what time do I typically wake up? I'm assuming that my partner is going to do this as well. So my husband definitely does not like it as cold as I do and definitely has a different wake schedule. So I typically wake up somewhere around 6. I'm going to say 6:30 because I'm wishful thinking that I could actually sleep in. And then it gives you the option to just like heat it up by 5 degrees or however many degrees you want. And then wake up phone-free, snooze or dismiss with the tap of the 8 button. So you can use the button on the side, and then you can configure the center button to snooze or dismiss. I'm gonna say snooze. And then insights every morning on the app, so it shows you all the things that it will give you in the morning. And then it just gives you a score every day as well. So yeah, so I think that is basically the whole setup. So tonight I will sleep on it. I will edit this video so that I give you my first impressions at the end. We'll be updating the article. And yeah, hopefully— this is like a very sophisticated system. It's a little bit more advanced than the other one, so I'll just be curious if I feel like it's so much better or what the differences are. It does require subscription, so that is one slight negative over the other one that I have where you buy it, you use it, there's no ongoing subscription. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this. And I, like I said, I will follow up the end with my first impressions. All right, here we are the next morning after my first night on the Eight Sleep. I've been sitting here editing the video and getting it ready for YouTube and wanted to finish this so that I can go ahead and just cut it all together and be finished for now. So thus I have not really moved on with my day or anything yet. I've just been at my desk working and thought I'd give you my first thoughts. So basically, it definitely gets very cold. It was too cold for me last night. It definitely woke me up a couple times. The other thing that I observed is that it doesn't seem as responsive as my old unit. So in other words, when I turned it up, it seemed like it took a lot longer for me to get any kind of heat out of it, and I really didn't and I don't know if it was the system overriding me, allowing me not to get it too hot since it was still the middle of the night, but I really just couldn't like get warm again. And so that was a bit frustrating. And I know it does adapt and learn you over time, but I guess my thought would be, even if you know you like to sleep really cold, I probably for that first night would just put everything at zero. And that is one thing I think is a little confusing about my app. The old unit that I have, uh, like I said, that was the Chili brand, the ChiliSleep, is you actually do it by temperature. So you have some idea, like 80 degrees, 90 degrees, we all kind of have a good sense of what that means. This is on a scale from, um, you know, -5, -10, whatever it is, to +5, +10. And so it's hard to know how much each of those increments actually are with temperature. So I think that that is something that is just— it's meant to actually do it itself. That's why you have the subscription. And so I think it'll just take a little patience to have that work for me over time. And maybe I'll dig in a little more and just see what people say on, uh, Reddit or wherever else about their experience with the first few nights and see if there's any way I can mitigate that. But I already changed the schedule for tonight to be all set at zeros, which I guess theoretically is just water moving through the unit. It's not significantly heating or cooling it. And hopefully if I let that be my baseline and then just let it take over for the night and kind of figure out skin temperature or whatever it measures, then hopefully it'll be a little bit better as far as matching my actual sleep temperature. Because as someone who typically sleeps hot and have, you know, perimenopause and menopause, that's the first reason that I actually got one of these cooling pads was because I was having trouble with night sweats. And that was back in about 2020, I think. And thankfully that's been gone for a long time now. I have my hormones pretty balanced, so I haven't had the night sweat problem as much. I still have always tended to sleep hot, and the house that we live in now is very uninsulated on the second floor where our bedroom is, and in the summer it gets really hot. So, uh, that is one big reason why having this unit— like, yes, they're an expensive investment, but it's actually cheaper than new insulation or new HVAC unit or any of those things. So it's really useful for that as well. Um, but anyway, my first impression was I didn't think it responded as quickly as I would like when I turned the temperature up, and that it too cold, probably for my own doing because I set in the app to be a little colder in the middle of the night. And but other than that, the pad itself is so comfortable. You cannot feel any of the tubes or the mechanics at all, and it's like having a topper on your bed. It's really, really comfortable, just really plush. And when I got in the bed and it had it a little warmed up for me before I got into bed, I also messed that up too because it gets very warm. And so when I first got in bed, I was like roasting and it took a while for their temperature to come down where I feel like on the ChilliPad, it seems like it just comes, goes down and up a lot more quickly. So over time I'll see if that continues to be the case, see if there's something that I'm doing wrong. I'm sure there again is a bit of learning curve, but that's first impressions. And if you wanna keep up with this, go to the article, it'll be linked in the description below. I'll probably put it, pop it up on the screen here too. Um, but that way over time I plan on doing a 30-day update so that after I've actually had a time to really sleep on it multiple, multiple times and learn the system and learn the quirks, if there are any, or if it's just me. And then I'll report back. And so I'll always be updating that article. So anyway, until next time, thanks again. Bye!