Sleeping for one week on a temperature-controlled mattress cover improves sleep and cardiovascular recovery

Abstract

Body temperature should be tightly regulated for optimal sleep. However, various extrinsic and intrinsic factors can alter body temperature during sleep. We examined how sleep and cardiovascular health metrics were affected by sleeping for one week with vs. without an active temperature-controlled mattress cover (the Eight Sleep Pod). 54 subjects wore a home sleep test device (HST) for four nights each with the Pod on and off (> 300 total HST nights), while also collecting sleeping heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). With the Pod on, men’s deep and light sleep increased by 14 and 23 min, respectively, while women’s REM sleep increased by 9 min. Sleeping HR (-2%) and HRV (+ 7%) significantly improved with Pod on. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that a continuously temperature-regulated bed surface can significantly 1) modify time spent in sleep stages at specific points in the night, 2) improve thermal comfort and perceived sleep quality, and 3) enhance cardiovascular recovery (HR and HRV) during sleep.