The Best Smart Bed: Top 5 Products for 2024

Is this Technology Right for You?

Most people would agree that a good night of rest is better than a bad one. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes reports that 40 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder, and another 20 million have occasional sleepless nights.

Added to that is the fact that one-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep each night, at least according to data released by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) in 2016. We wouldn’t be surprised if that number has climbed in the last few years.

The reality is that busy schedules and stress make it harder than ever to get the rest we need. If you’re willing to invest a few extra bucks on a mattress to get a better night of sleep, then you’ll probably wonder how you ever survived without a smart brand.

One thing to keep in mind: you will need an internet connection for some of these beds to work.

Smart Bed Buying Considerations

Features

Sleep Tracker

You no longer have to enroll in an expensive laboratory study to track your sleep. With an intelligent mattress, you’ll be able to monitor your movement, environmental factors, and even some of your biological functions.

Depending on the brand you choose, you’ll be able to track a number of the following:

• The time you get into bed
  

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• When you fall asleep
  

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• How long it took to fall asleep
  

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• When you wake up, as well as when you get out of bed
  

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• The amount of time spent in deep and light sleep
  

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• How often you wake up during the night
  

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• Sleeping positions and frequency of switching
  

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• Heart rate
  

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• Breathing cycle
  

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• Body temperature
  

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• Room and bed surface temperature
  

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• Ambient light

Each night your mattress (depending on the model) will give you a “sleep score” and provide tips on what you can do to improve.

Firmness

This feature is only available in more advanced models, but can be well worth the investment.
It works by adjusting the firmness level of the mattress depending on your unique preferences, and it can automatically adjust itself throughout the night.

For example, it can be set to automatically become firmer when you switch from sleeping on your side to your back. Or if you have an injury and want the bed to be softer for a few days, you’d be able to adjust that as well.

Temperature Control

If you sleep with a partner who has vastly different temperature preferences than you, then this feature could end up saving your relationship. This feature works by allowing each partner to set their desired temperature for the surface of the mattress.

Adjustable Bases

An adjustable base is certainly nothing new. The first commercially available electric models showed up in mattress showrooms in the early 1980s. However, remote control and Bluetooth options are relatively new inventions. Some brands even offer the ability to automatically adjust upwards when they detect snoring.

App Integration

Being able to control your bed through your smartphone, tablet or Amazon’s Alexa device is another wondrous feature of smart mattresses. Smart devices have user-friendly interfaces that not only allow for sleep tracking, they also let users set timers for temperature control.

Some apps also integrate “If This Then That” (IFTTT), which is a logic-based technology that lets you set up rules for your bed to follow while you’re asleep. For example, you may want to create a rule that says if the room temperature gets below a certain point, raise the temperature of the mattress.

Smart Alarms

This type of alarm is much more adaptive than a standard alarm clock that blares loudly at a set time each morning. Instead, this can be set to wake you up during your lightest stage of sleep, which means you’ll be able to get more easily and resist pressing snooze.

Find Out More: Best Smart Alarm Clocks

Budget

As with any new technology, the price tends to start high, and as more companies enter the market, the price will naturally drop. There are a couple of manufacturers that have managed to produce quality smart mattresses for under $1,000, but most brands tend to run between $1,000 and $2,500 or more.

And that’s only for a queen-sized mattress. If you’re looking at a king, the prices will be even higher.

If you’re looking for an affordable, but high quality mattress without the smart technology, check out our Best Budget Mattresses.

Trial Period & Warranty

Humans spend around one third of their lives in bed, so it’s imperative that you’re satisfied with the mattress you buy. Most companies allow you to try their mattress risk-free for around 90 to 100 days. Then, if you don’t like it, you can return it, or have it donated for a refund.

The warranty, by contrast, doesn’t allow you to get a refund simply for not liking the bed. Rather, there has to be something wrong with it, like a manufacturer defect or excessive sagging over a set number of years. Most companies offer anywhere from a 10 to 20-year warranty, though there are brands that offer a lifetime warranty.

One thing to pay close attention to as you shop for smart mattresses: not all companies consider this new technology to be covered under warranty. Other companies will cover it, but only for a couple of years.

Learn More: How To Return a Mattress

Different Smart Bed Systems

You don’t necessarily need to buy a whole new mattress to take advantage of smart mattress technology. There are alternatives. Some companies that make toppers, covers, and even pillows that integrate some of the smart features. That way, you can test the waters of this technology without buying a whole new bed.

Mattress Topper

If you’re looking for a mattress topper that utilizes this technology, you’ll have to wait a bit longer as none exists quite yet. There are electric, digitally controlled options, but you’ll need to get a smart plug like a Belkin WeMo plug to be able to connect it to a smartphone or Alexa.
However, there are mattress covers that you can get instead that already have this functionality built-in.

You may be wondering, “what is the difference between a mattress topper and a mattress cover?”

A lot of people use these terms interchangeably, but a mattress topper is more of a pad that people use to make their mattress softer or firmer. A cover, on the other hand, is more of a protective layer, and it sometimes has padding to make a mattress more comfortable.

Mattress Cover

The right smart mattress cover can do everything its bed counterpart can do, but they do it at a fraction of the price. This is because it packs all of the technology of the mattress in a slim fitting cover.

It will include an electronic hub that connects to the mattress and uses Wi-Fi to perform all the tasks you’d expect, like sleep tracking, temperature color, and communicating with your appliances.

WiFi Heated Mattress Pad

This is the same thing as the mattress toppers and covers described above.

Smart Pillow

There are low-tech options that label themselves as “smart pillows.” These typically include multiple layers that allow you to customize the height and firmness of your pillow. There are more robust options, though.

New companies have emerged within the last couple of years that pack all of the smart bed functionality into the size of a single pillow. These pillows provide sleep trackers, sleep analysis a vibrating snore alarm, and IFTTT technology that integrates with smart phone and Amazon devices.

Frequently Asked Questions about Smart Mattresses

Can a smart mattress make itself in the morning?

This is so close to becoming a reality! A couple of years ago, two companies ran successful crowdfunding campaigns for beds that made themselves within a few seconds of you getting out of bed.

Now, these companies are in the final stages of production, and they should release their smart mattresses to the mass market any day now. Stay tuned!

Will my smart system make me coffee?

Surprisingly, yes! Many have this functionality and these smart systems can detect when you get out of bed and start the coffee machine. By the time you make your way into the kitchen, there’ll be a fresh, steaming cup, just for you!

How does Sleep IQ measure heart rate?

Sleep IQ is a system developed by Sleep Number, one of the top innovators in the mattress industry. The SleepIQ system can accurately measure your heart rate without the use of wires or any obtrusive equipment.

We won’t get too technical, but essentially, they use something called “ballistocardiography,” which measures ballistic forces on the heart and creates a graph based on those measurements. It measures the subtle rise and fall that occurs from the blood flow associated with each heartbeat.

This same process is also used to track motion and breathing rates.