Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: does it help menopause night sweats?

Name: Eight Sleep Pod 5 review: does it help menopause night sweats?
Creator: MenoWoman

Cooling the bed may make night sweats easier to sleep through, but the only menopause study of an Eight Sleep Pod was run by the company, does not name the Pod model used and is not yet peer reviewed. It cools your body; it does not treat the hormone changes that cause hot flashes.

Researched by the MenoWoman team. Edited by Marcela Sat. Updated 7 November 2026. We may earn from links.

See a doctor if night sweats are drenching, start suddenly, or come with fever, weight loss, a new lump or swollen glands, as these can have causes other than menopause. Also seek advice if poor sleep is affecting your mood, work or driving.

What it is and what the brand claims

The Pod 5 is a cooling and warming cover that fits over your existing mattress. A bedside hub moves temperature-controlled water through the cover, and each side of the bed can be set separately. At its May 2025 launch, the range was given as 55 to 110°F.⁴

The brand says the Pod adjusts the temperature through the night and that built-in sensors track heart rate, breathing rate, heart rate variability and sleep stages.⁴ Its menopause page says the bed can pre-cool to limit overheating, and that you can tap the cover for rapid cooling if a hot flash wakes you.² The brand also states the Pod is not a medical device and is not meant to treat any condition.²

This is an evidence review, not a hands-on test. This page covers the Pod 5, launched in May 2025.⁴ Eight Sleep's current product pages describe a newer Pod 6, and hardware, features and plans can differ between models.³ If you are offered a Pod 5, check which features and plans apply to that model before buying.

What cooling can and can't do for night sweats

Night sweats are hot flashes that happen in sleep. They start in the brain's temperature control center as estrogen (oestrogen) levels shift. A cooler bed can help you lose heat faster and may make it easier to fall back asleep after a flush.

Cooling does not change the hormone signal behind the flash. It will not stop daytime hot flashes, and it does not protect bones or treat other menopause symptoms. Research on bedding also shows that sleep and temperature interact in complex ways, and results from one group or room setting may not carry over to another.⁵

The Menopause Society's 2023 statement on non-hormone treatments does not recommend cooling techniques as a treatment for hot flashes.⁷ For a fuller picture of causes and treatments, see our night sweats page.

What the research shows

Eight Sleep reports a study in 98 peri- and postmenopausal women, some using hormone therapy. Each woman slept one week with temperature control on and one week with it off.¹

The brand says nighttime hot flashes fell by 56% on average, about one fewer per night, and that 85% of women had fewer with the Pod on. Sleep quality scores rose by 12%.¹ These are self-reported results from 14 nights.

Which Pod? The January 2026 write-up refers only to "the Pod" and does not say which generation was used.¹ So it is not clear that these results apply to the Pod 5 specifically.

There are important limits. The study was announced and written up by Eight Sleep's own team, and its marketing labels the figures as internal study data.^1,2 The manuscript has been posted as a preprint and submitted for peer review, but it was not published in a journal when we checked.¹ The write-up does not say whether the order was randomized or whether there was any sham condition, which matters because women knew when cooling was on.

No independent trials of the Pod in menopause were found. A separate, peer-reviewed study of a wrist cooling device in women with hot-flash insomnia found better sleep scores, which suggests cooling may help some women, though it was a different product.⁶

Safety and who should think twice

Serious harms are unlikely for most healthy adults, but the cover can get very cold. People with reduced feeling in their skin, poor circulation or Raynaud's may want to ask a doctor first and avoid the coldest settings.

The sleep and heart data are wellness tracking, not a diagnosis. Do not rely on them to rule out a heart rhythm or sleep breathing problem.

Who it might suit and alternatives

The Pod may suit someone who shares a bed with a partner who runs cold, and who wants a strong, adjustable cooling effect. Cheaper steps include a cooler room, a fan, and layers you can throw off; see our guide to cooling sheets for night sweats.

If night sweats are frequent or severe, the treatments with the best evidence are hormone therapy (HRT), non-hormonal prescription medicines and CBT. A doctor can help you weigh these. Compare other options on our sleep and cooling products page.

Price and value

The Pod is a large one-off purchase, sold with a trial period for returns.^3,4 On top of that, Eight Sleep sells an Autopilot membership in several tiers, billed monthly or yearly. The brand's pages say some features, such as automatic temperature changes and sleep tracking, sit within these plans, and the longer warranty is tied to the higher tiers.³

Before buying, check what the cover does without a membership and what the ongoing cost will be. Check the current price on the brand's site.

What it is used for: evidence rated

Option	Evidence	What the research shows
Fewer nighttime hot flashes	Weak evidence	One 98-woman study run by Eight Sleep, not yet peer reviewed, with no sham condition reported and no Pod model named.¹
Better sleep quality in menopause	Weak evidence	Self-reported 12% improvement over one week in the same brand study.¹
Cooling to ease sleep disrupted by hot flashes (in general)	Weak evidence	A small, peer-reviewed trial of a different, wrist-worn device found better sleep scores.⁶
Treating the cause of hot flashes	No evidence	Cooling the bed does not change the hormone signal that triggers hot flashes; the brand says it is not a medical device.²
Health tracking (heart rate, breathing)	No evidence	Brand claims for sensor accuracy; no independent validation was found, and it is not a diagnostic tool.⁴

Ratings explained: how we rate. Always talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting a medicine or supplement.