My bed is kind of a robot. OK, I know that sounds out-there and maybe even a little dystopian, but it's true. I'm an analyst in Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab, and Tempur-Pedic offered me the chance to test the Tempur-ActiveBreeze Smart Bed, so I took the opportunity—albeit reluctantly.
I don't really keep up with the latest tech trends. I prefer my wired earbuds and don't know that I'll ever own an Amazon Alexa, so I wasn't quite sure about putting an AI-driven smart bed in my otherwise old-world bedroom. But I test bedding for a living, so I ultimately decided to try it out. "How different could it be?" I asked myself. The answer: Not that different when it comes to getting my nightly shuteye, but vastly different in terms of what it's capable of doing and telling me. This thing has every bell and whistle...oh, and it can talk too.
I've been sleeping on the Tempur-ActiveBreeze for a little over a year now, so I'm ready to share my thoughts.
Mattress overview
Pros
- Fully adjustable bed base
- Brand claims cooling feature can make bed feel 30 degrees cooler than regular memory foam
- Bluetooth audio connection and massage function
Cons
- Expensive
Features at a Glance
| Mattress type | Hybrid (springs and memory foam) |
| Delivery | White glove delivery and setup included |
| Mattress height | 13 in. |
| Trial period | 90 days |
Best for sleepers who love the latest tech, appreciate the feel of Tempur-Pedic's iconic foams, and are OK with spending more for an immersive sleep experience.
Construction
Tempur-Pedic is known for being a front runner in the memory foam mattress space, and this mattress features a hybrid design that combines the brand's iconic foams with coils for what the brand describes as a medium feel. I've slept on some of the best solid foam, innerspring, and hybrid mattresses on the market, and to me, this mattress feels more like an all-foam bed than a traditional hybrid mattress.
The mattress is 13 inches tall, and there's just a small layer of springs for added support and airflow. The layer doesn't make that noticeable of a difference in the feel when compared to the amount of memory foam. In addition to the springs, the memory foam layers are perforated for additional airflow, which makes the mattress that much more breathable and comfortable.
Firmness
I prefer a soft mattress, so the bed is a little firm for my taste and registers as more of a medium-firm feel to me. I'm a combination sleeper, so I flip-flop between my back, stomach, and sides throughout the night, but I spend the most time on my sides. It's soft enough that I sink in slightly when I'm on my side, and the foam conforms to my body for pressure relief; though it's firm enough that I still feel plenty of support when I'm sleeping on my back or stomach.
One tester who has chronic pain from arthritis and fibromyalgia said she loves the feel of the mattress. While it still feels somewhat firm around her hips, she said the mattress provides much-needed pressure relief around her shoulders and knees. She is a side sleeper, and her partner is a stomach sleeper who appreciates the medium feel as well, despite their different needs.
Motion isolation & edge support
I sleep with my husband, and my cats are frequent visitors throughout the night, but I rarely feel any of them moving around, thanks to the foam's motion-isolating abilities. We never roll towards each other or off the sides, since the foam contours to our bodies so well. A consumer tester said she doesn't feel her partner or three pets at night either.
The edge support is rather impressive too. I hate getting ready in the morning, so I sit at the edge of my bed to dry and style my hair, and I barely sink in and never slide off—a miracle for a mostly foam mattress.
Smart base overview
This is a two-in-one situation. The mattress and bed base are designed to be used with each other, so buying the mattress gets you the Tempur-Ergo ProSmart Air Base too. The bed base is electric, so this is where the technological advancements come into play. Like a robot, the base moves and adjusts itself to meet my needs. I can program it to regulate my temperature while I sleep, raise and lower itself when it notices I'm snoring (without ever having to press a button), and it even tells me how well I sleep every single night by measuring my vitals. When I pair the base to my phone, it speaks to me, which was honestly jarring to hear at first, as was listening to a movie with my bed's built-in surround sound. Let me further break down some of its primary features:
Fully adjustable
It's a fully adjustable base, meaning you can raise and lower the head and foot of the bed, along with the lumbar, which provides support to your lower back. I regularly raise the head of the bed while I unwind at night to help with acid reflux and for comfort while I'm reading.
One of the bed's main attractions is its Zero Gravity mode, which is meant to simulate the feeling of weightlessness, ultimately taking pressure off of your back as you sleep. I find it comfy to lie in this mode for an hour or two, but I don't love the feeling for a full night's rest because I'm a combination sleeper and feel stuck in one place. Our tester also enjoys using this mode for relaxing and watching TV while in bed but prefers the bed to be flatter at bedtime, with a slight incline at the head.
Heating & cooling features
To me, the standout aspect of the smart base is its dual-chambered fan system. I sleep on a King-sized mattress, so the base is equipped with a fan on each side of the bed. The fans circulate air from the base of the bed through the mattress and can be adjusted to feel cool or warm (warm is a setting I rarely use). The temperature can also be programmed to match your natural body temperature as you sleep. I have it set to constantly cool on high all night long because memory foam is notorious for holding onto body heat, so this feature allows for a cooler sleeping surface, but you can opt for low or medium cooling. My husband and I are sweaty sleepers, and when we're on a regular foam mattress together, it can feel like a fire is burning beneath us. Thanks to the built-in fans, we're able to sleep cooly and comfortably.
Our tester previously slept on an innerspring mattress with a temperature-controlling device placed on top of the mattress for cooler sleep. She and her partner both prefer the feel of the Tempur-ActiveBreeze mattress and base over their old bed setup. The tester shared of her previous mattress, "I would set the temperature low, so it was cool to fall asleep, but I'd wake up too cold. The bed felt like ice. I don't experience that with this mattress and am happier with the more consistent cooling."
Massage & Bluetooth connectivity
The Tempur-ActiveBreeze is also equipped with Wave Form technology, which vibrates the bed for a massage experience. With Wave Form, the bed uses sound waves to power the vibration, which the brand says helps promote relaxation and reduces tension. The strength of the vibrations can be adjusted at the head and foot of the bed, and you can choose between three different intensities. This isn't my favorite feature because I don't love massage chairs or pads that use vibration only, but it is something our tester really enjoys. She and her partner, along with her grandkids, love to sit in bed and turn Wave Form on while relaxing.
You're also able to connect the bed to audio using Bluetooth to play soothing sounds from the Tempur-Pedic and Calm App collab, music, or movies too. Someone on the street below my apartment building once connected to the Bluetooth speakers in my bed base, so I was woken up to the loud sound of The Weeknd playing at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday. When I spoke with the Tempur-Pedic team about this, they informed me that they were working on securing the connection. I haven't had a problem since.
About the app
Sleep tracking
I never thought I'd be connecting my bed to an app on my phone, but here we are. Every morning, it shows me a recap of how well I slept the night before. Sometimes, I wish I didn't because I'm not a particularly great sleeper but I am a particularly great snorer, and I don't need to be reminded of either. Alas, the app tells me anyway. My husband and I like to compare stats—he always wins.
The app is pretty intuitive. When you first open it, you're given a brief overview of your sleep, along with an overall score based on a variety of sleep metrics, including how much sleep you got and the amount of each type (REM vs. deep vs. light), your breathing, and your heart rate. Tempur-Pedic says it's best to aim for a score of at least 75.
You can go deeper into your sleep metrics, further analyzing your heart rate throughout the night, reviewing the amount of times the bed recognized your snores or breathing disturbances, checking on the number of times you woke up throughout the night, looking into the air quality and temperature level in your room, and more. I can look back on the last year and point out the nights I was out drinking with friends or having a stressful time at work because of my increased heart rate and when I've been sick based on the increase in snoring.
According to the app, my sleep score averages at 84, but I beg to differ. I wake up nightly for around two hours without fail—usually between the hours of 3:30 and 5:00 a.m. As I lie in bed trying to fall back asleep, the smart sensors recognize this stillness as me actually sleeping, although I'm wide awake. It's gotten better at detecting my waking hours with time, but it's still not always fully accurate. While I can edit the start and end time of my sleep cycle, I'm unable to adjust the data in between, so there's no way for me to correct the app to let it know I'm sleeping much less than it thinks.
Remote control
Along with reviewing sleep metrics, the app allows you full control over the bed base. Instead of using the physical remote that comes with the bed, you can adjust the base with your phone (my favorite prank is raising and lowering the base from afar while my husband is snuggling in at night). It can also be used to control the massage, lights, cooling, and heating.
Settings
With the app, I'm able to choose if and how the base reacts when I snore (raising the head or vibrating) and set an alarm to wake me up in the morning (playing sound or vibrating). Plus, it features a special Relax mode in partnership with the Calm app. Choose from a variety of soothing sounds and modes to help you prepare to fall asleep and wind down. I'm a big fan of the Thunderstorm setting, but here's a reminder to not start scrolling through TikTok while trying to listen to the sweet sounds of rain, or your video sound will blare through the speakers instead.
My final thoughts
Tempur-Pedic's Tempur-ActiveBreeze Smart Bed is the most technologically advanced bed I've come across. It's made of comfortable, innovative Tempur memory foam and springs. It can keep hot sleepers 30 degrees cooler than regular memory foam, according to the brand. It raises and lowers at the head, feet, and lower back for the ultimate support. It can play music or white noise through built-in speakers. It can warm and massage as you get cozy in bed. It can track all of your movements as you're sleeping, including your breathing, your heart rate, and when you wake up. There's really nothing else quite like it on the market.
That being said, it's definitely not for everyone. Priced at more than $10,000 for a Queen model, this mattress is a huge expense. I've slept on $300 mattresses and had just as good of sleep as I get on my pricey Tempur-Pedic bed, but what you're paying for with the Tempur-ActiveBreeze is the entire experience. If you're interested in tracking your sleep, love the latest tech, and are a fan of responsive memory foam material, this could be the bed of your dreams. And if you struggle with sleep, it might be worth it to you to invest in a bed with premium features that will bring you customized comfort and data insights to help you improve your bedtime routine.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Amanda Constantine joined the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab as a home and apparel reviews analyst in 2022. She tests apparel and home goods of all kinds, including bedding like sheets, toppers, silk pillowcases, comforters, and mattresses. Constantine has visited mattress manufacturing plants to learn how they're made and has consulted with reps at Tempur-Pedic to learn more about the brand, the popular foam materials, and this model of mattress in particular. She has personally been sleeping on this mattress for over a year and used her experience, along with her professional expertise to evaluate the bed.
