Sleep is one of the most important factors in overall health and well-being. We don’t get nearly enough of it, though. Sometimes we don’t even realize how poorly we’re sleeping until things are really out of hand. The tech industry has gone all-in to help, even developing sleep aid robots. Now, though, the ReST smart bed takes sleep technology and smart home ideas even further.
A Smart Bed, You Ask? Yes, Indeed
I was skeptical when I first heard about smart bed technology, even though I consider myself a tech advocate. When I looked at what’s involved in the ReST smart bed, though, I decided I had to try it for myself.
This bed is part memory foam mattress, part air mattress. The ultimate model adds GelGrid technology for even more comfort. At its core, though, is the air mattress technology. ReST mattresses have either three or five air pockets, depending on the model you purchase.
These air pockets correspond to different parts of your body: your shoulders, lumbar, and hips for three-zone mattresses. The five-zone mattresses are customizable for your head, shoulders, lumbar, hips, and legs.
Medical-grade air pumps (two for mattresses queen-sized and larger) inflate and deflate these zones to keep you comfortable. A sensor mat delivers real-time body pressure mapping so the bed can automatically adjust firmness based on your position and individual pressure points.
The “Anatomy” and Sleep Technology in a ReST Smart Bed
For the record, the model the company provided me for review purposes is a queen-sized ReST Original Smart Bed with GelGrid. That’s the one I’ll be discussing, but other options are available that could be lighter or heavier on your wallet.
To recap, this mattress has five adjustable body zones to customize your comfort. The air chambers are medical-grade polyurethane, and the seams are RF welded to prevent air leaks.
Above the air chambers sits the sensor mat keeps track of how much pressure your body is experiencing. It reads 2,000 points of data across the surface of the bed, feeding that information to the air pumps.
Atop the pressure mat, mine includes the ReST Gel Grid to eliminate pressure and promote air flow. Next, the “sleep skin” helps keep you cool and wicks away moisture. This component is removable and machine washable.
The air pumps are also medical-grade, and can connect to your home’s WiFi. Note, they don’t have to, and can instead create their own WiFi hotspots. Inside the ReST app, sleep technology goes to work, connecting to the air pumps to set your comfort level. You can even choose to view and track information about your sleep performance.
Yes, But Is It Comfortable?
My ReST mattress is hands-down the most comfortable I’ve ever enjoyed. Depending on your comfort preferences, you can set each air chamber’s firmness manually or have the pumps automatically adjust based on your firmness preferences. A nearly-realtime heat map even shows how much pressure your body is experiencing.
There’s also an option called Position. With this configuration, you can set different firmnesses for the five body zones, but not just a “one size fits all” setting. When you use Position mode, you set your body zones separately for side and back sleeping. During the night, as you switch from side to back, the mattress automatically adjusts to your position.
Overall, sleeping on the ReST smart bed has to be the closest I can come to extreme comfort. I literally feel the bed molding itself to my body, whether I’m on my side or my back. The air pump does make some noise, which is interesting to listen to as I drift off. It’s never once awakened me, though, because it is extremely quiet.
Experiencing Smart Sleep Technology
Honestly, the app is the only weak point to this bed. It’s feature-rich, and offers more insight into your sleep health than anything I’ve seen before. The beta Night Vision portion of the app keeps track of your sleep cycles, sleep duration, and the efficiency of your sleep.
It also tracks your restless movements and even your breathing, which is both cool and frightening at the same time. In the future, ReST plans on integrating this data with the Apple Health app, but that support isn’t available yet. Even without HealthKit, the sleep technology built into the app is definitely top-notch. However, it’s not perfect.
The downside to the app is that it’s occasionally glitchy. It will lose communication with the air pumps, and I’ve no choice but to force-quit the app and relaunch it. That’s a very minor issue, though, and one the developers are aware of and working to resolve.
I think, in our privacy-minded times, it’s important to reiterate that the ReST Smart Bed does not have to be connected to the Internet. You can, instead, simply use the built-in WiFi networks the air pumps create on setup. Obviously, this will make adjusting your settings more work, but the option is definitely viable.
Nitty-Gritty Post-Sales Details
ReST offers very generous terms for evaluating the bed and keeping it in tip-top shape for the future. The company provides a 90-day money-back guarantee trial period. The bed is also covered by a 10-year non-prorated warranty. If any components of the bed fail under normal use, ReST will replace it at no cost (not even shipping) for 10 years.
For a limited time, ReST is offering a Black Friday sale. You can get $500 off your bed, and a free Malouf adjustable base.