The Sleep Number i8 Review

• Review
• Specs
• Comments

There is no such thing as sacrificing the way you sleep. If you’re careful enough to plug your smartphone in every night so you can have a full battery the next day, then you should pay at least that much attention to how you recharge your own batteries. Getting a good night sleep is underrated. We sleep with our TVs on, neglecting how LED is sending mixed signals to our brain, telling us it’s not bedtime yet. We forget to open the windows to allow fresh air inside the room. We eat before going to bed, or, even worse, we bring snacks into bed and then hope to fall asleep on a full stomach.

All of these factors contribute to a disturbing, fussy, unproductive sleep. And then there’s the mattress. We are conditioned by our budget to purchase the cheapest mattress we can get and hope for the best. That is not how mattress shopping should work.

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Sleep Number i8 Bed Mattress Specs

 Height: 12 Inches

 Comfort Layer: 6 inches

 Trial Period: 100 Night Trial

 Warranty: 25 Year Limited Warranty

Tips on Choosing the Right Mattress

As similar as they may seem, all mattresses are different. They have several types of construction, different types of layers and some of them even have technology integrated so they can help people understand more about the way the sleep. So how do you know which mattress is the right one for you?

Mattresses are different in terms of level of firmness. They can be plush or extra firm. They can have several levels of foam, which also contribute to their softness. Memory foam mattresses are characterized by the fact that they take the shape of your body.

It’s important to determine what your physical needs are. What’s your favorite sleeping position? Do you tend to move a lot during your sleep? Do you sleep alone or with someone else? Does your sleeping partner have the same sleeping configuration as you?

Without looking to offend anyone, we have to mention that your total weight is an important factor when you’re out shopping for mattresses. That’s because your weight determines how much you’ll “sink” into the mattress, which automatically means that different types of firmness levels are compatible with different types of weight categories

Determining your budget before you go shopping is also very important. Mattresses salesmen will often try to convince you to purchase the most expensive model or spend money on extras that you probably don’t need.

Make sure that you can try out the mattress before you buy it. If you order your mattress online, try to look for sellers that offer trial periods and return policies that work in your favor.

Always be on the lookout for mattresses that are longer than your total height. If you don’t sleep alone, also make sure that the mattress is wide enough for both you and your partner to move comfortably.

Sleep Number 360® i8 Smart Bed

As one of the most expensive mattresses sold by Sleep Number (third only to the iLE and i10), the i8 should pack comfort and features up to a point where you feel like you’re sleeping on the clouds. But we’re going to dissect the features and firmness of this mattress to determine if the price tag is, indeed, justified.

Features & Benefits

The i8 is the first mattress of Sleep Number’s Innovation series. It is also more affordable compared to its siblings, the iLE and the i10. But with a mattress that has such a high price tag, it always take a little bit of research to understand if this mattress can deliver according to your expectations. Without further ado, let’s dive into the features and the benefits provided by one of Sleep Number’s premium products: the i8 mattress.

Available Sizes

If you’re currently interested in acquiring an i8 mattress for yourself, here are the 6 sizes available for purchase:

Construction & Layers

By comparing the i8 with the basic mattresses sold by Sleep Number, the c2 and the c4, we can definitely notice some improvements in terms of comfort and cushioning. The layers of the mattress are divided to provide more support for the spine and hips than its cheaper counterparts. Overall, the mattress was manufactured using a blend of polyester/polypropylene. The duvet pillow top integrates the Outlast temperature technology, characterized by the improved airflow that allows your skin to breathe. Mattresses that make you feel hot will never be comfortable, you can say that it makes sense to have such a feature on a mattress as expensive as the i8. The top part of the mattress integrates 2 inches of Hypersoft Quilting foam, to provide cushioning for your mattress. The mattress then included 3 inches of PlushFit comfort foam which, contrary to some beliefs, it is mandatory if you want to have a softer mattress.

It’s important that we talk about what exactly this 3 inch layer is useful for. As you know, depending on your most favorite sleeping position, there are pressure points created in the spots where your body comes in contact with the inner layers of your mattress. For instance, if you like sleeping on your side, your hips and shoulders will sink deeper into the mattress compared to the other sides of your body. That means that shoulders and hips create pressure points for side sleepers. Now, the i8 advertises this PlushFit foam layer as being capable of releasing pressure in 7 specific body areas: your feet, lower legs, hips, knees, shoulder, head and lower back. Paying attention to these details is what hints who this mattress is most suitable for. Beneath the air chambers, you have a 1 inch foam base pad, which provides overall support of the mattress and keep the bottom layer of the air chambers protected.

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Dual Air Chambers

Depending on the size of the mattress you choose, it will integrate either one or 2 air chambers. I8 mattresses with 2 chambers allow you to customize the firmness of the each air chamber, so that every person who sleeps on this bed can have a personal configuration best suited for their body. These air chambers can be pumped with air via the integrated 4 foot hose pump. The hose is conveniently hidden under the covers, without getting in the way of your comfort. Due to the hose and the 24 gauge vulcanized rubber of the air chambers, there are chances that your mattress will have an unpleasant smell when you first unpack it. Thankfully, the cover of the mattress is zippered; a zipper that you can open and air the mattress when needed. Don’t worry; the smell should be gone in less than a week.

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FlexFit Bases

While purchasing a FlexFit base isn’t at all mandatory and you can still use the i8 with whatever platform base you currently have at home, they do enhance some of the features of the mattress, up to a point where you may actually be convinced that you need one. There is a basic FlexFit base, which may not have additional features, but it is good in case you don’t own a basic platform to use with your i8. Upgrading the functions of the mattress means that you have to redirect your attention to the FlexFit 1, 2 or 3 models, each of them adding more functionality to the product compared to the last. With FlexFit 1, you can elevate the head and foot zones of the mattress. Elevating the head will grant a much better position for when you’re reading or watching TV, as it eliminates the need to stack a bunch of pillows on top of each other. It’s like sitting on a beach chair. Elevating your feet is excellent if you feel they’re hurting, as it helps regulate the blood circulation. If you have a job that requires a lot of standing up, you’ll truly learn to appreciate this feature. The FlexFit 2 base is characterized by the adjustability that delivers that “zero gravity feel”. I mean, who wouldn’t want to sleep on clouds, am I right? The FlexFit 3 is the highest upgrade you can bring to your bed base, as it also provides warmth in the foot area. Not only is this a great way to keep your feet warm during the winter, but if you have bad blood circulation, you know that your hands and feet are often cold.

SleepIQ Technology

Since the i8 is one of the premium line mattresses sold by Sleep Number, it includes sensors that are hidden inside the mattress and are able to calculate your sleeping score. The sleeping score is a composition of several indicators related to how you sleep. They measure everything from heart beat rate to how many times you woke up during the night. The next day, you are able to analyze your sleep stats and understand more about the way you sleep and how you can improve it. Even if the SleepIQ technology provides a lot of statistics, it isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. We think that Sleep Number should have done a better job in explaining how those statistics work and help people understand what they really mean. Reading the results of your Sleep Score without fully understanding what everything is supposed to mean is rather confusing more than informing. However, a great feature of the SleepIQ technology is that it allows you to sync the information with other popular health apps that you may use, like Fitbit or Apple Health. If you want to connect your SleepIQ app with another one, you have to first log into the app, go to “Settings”, select the “Sleeper” profile, select “Connected Apps” and then select the device or the app you’d like to connect. A popup will appear, asking you to enter your authentication info, after which you have to authorize SleepIQ to access that data. The whole process shouldn’t take more than a minute.

Firmness

There is a popular belief that Sleep Number makes mattresses as soft as you want them to be. While it is true that the air chambers can allow users to pump as much or as few air as they want inside them, there are other factors that contribute to the firmness or softness of the mattress. The number, type and thickness of memory foam layers are some of those factors. This is why there is a huge difference in firmness between the i8 and the c2 mattresses. The c2 features the same air chambers as the i8, but the former is way firmer compared to the i8 because it doesn’t have any layers of foam included.

Sleep Number

Have you ever wondered why Sleep Number mattresses are named this way? Because the name highlights the most important characteristic of their air mattresses: the possibility to customize the firmness delivered by the integrated air chambers. With either the remote control or by using their app, you can set up a number from 0 to 100 to determine how much air is pumped into the chamber underneath you. The beauty of dual air chambers is that each side of the bed can have its own sleep number. That means that both you and your sleeping partner can configure it to cater to your individual needs.

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Remote Control

The remote control of the i8 is the standard one that’s compatible with all Sleep Number mattresses. It excels in simplicity and we believe this is a very smart marketing move. The simple design of the remote means that both youngsters and the elderly can learn how to use it in a matter of minutes. There are 4 very intuitive buttons that are accompanied by a small display. The buttons allow you to choose between the left and the right side of the mattress, while the up and down arrows allow navigation through sleep numbers from 0 to 100. The display will show the current selected number.

Customer Opinions

Sleep Number

The sleep number of every individual i8 user is determined by the preferred firmness level. However, customers are unhappy with the fact that it takes a long time to find the right sleeping number, since the whole process implies that you have to test different settings for 3 to 5 nights.

SleepIQ Technology

As an overall opinion, the sleeping score is confusing for a lot of people. Many customers complained about the lack of a comprehensive system to aid them in understanding how to interpret the different results generated by the SleepIQ technology.

Back Pains

This is one of the major problems that the i8 was aiming to solve… and it seems to have succeeded. People who sleep on the i8 found that the mattress provides a lot more support for their back area and they manage to wake up pain-free.

Air Chambers

Even if many customers feel that the dual air chambers remain the best feature that Sleep Number’s mattresses provide, there are people who reported that air is leaking from the chambers and the mattress deflates overnight. We do, however, believe that this is a problem with some faulty units and doesn’t express a general issue with the i8.

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The Bottom Line

The i8 is an expensive mattress for people who like to sleep on their sides. That’s the short version of the story. The longer version implies understanding if all the features of the i8 are enough to convince you to spend thousands of dollars on a mattress. If we were to judge the mattress based solely on customer opinions, we’d have to say that this one of Sleep Number’s best products. If you have your heart set on smart bedding, the i8 may be just what you’re looking for. The SleepIQ technology is definitely a step towards understanding your sleep better, but sometimes the sleep score can be confusing if you don’t know how to interpret it. We do feel that the i8 should work on that. However, the layers of foam included inside the products suggest that it’s way more comfortable compared to other Sleep Number mattresses. We do like the Outlast technology that promises to keep you cool when you’re sleeping. This is definitely a nice feature that’s only available with the more premium Sleep Number products. The i8 is a great mattress, but if it doesn’t come anywhere near your budget, you could opt for the cheaper versions, like the p5 or p6. However, if you’re a side sleeper with a lot of money to spend, you should definitely give the i8 a chance to impress you.

Available Sizes