Contributed by Sofie Jacobsen, M.S.; Megan Holm, M.S.; Breanne Wilhite, Ph.D.; Nicole Moyen, Ph.D.
Pregnancy changes your body every week, but until now, your sleep environment stayed the same. Today, Eight Sleep is launching Pregnancy mode, a new feature available with Autopilot. Pregnancy mode automatically adjusts your Pod’s temperature from the first weeks of pregnancy through 24 weeks postpartum, and is built on more than 45,000 nights of pregnancy and postpartum sleep data.
The problem: pregnancy generates heat, and heat wrecks sleep
Pregnancy places enormous demands on the body. Metabolism increases, blood volume expands, and the cardiovascular system works progressively harder as the baby grows (source, source). These changes shift your thermal comfort zone, and the shift isn’t subtle.
We found a clear pattern across pregnancy. By the third trimester, women consistently set their Pod approximately 3°F cooler than before pregnancy, with some women needing temperatures up to 24°F cooler.
Most wearables can track these changes in heart rate, HRV, and body temperature throughout pregnancy, but they can’t do anything about them. The Pod can. Pregnancy mode personalizes Pod temperatures for each woman during this demanding time.
Why temperature matters so much during pregnancy
Temperature is one of the biggest biological levers that drives sleep quality. During pregnancy, your metabolic rate speeds up, making you feel warmer, to balance this out, the temperature range that feels comfortable shifts cooler (source). Temperatures that once felt comfortable now feel too hot. Layer in a summer pregnancy and you have a recipe for months of disrupted sleep.
These disruptions compound. A review of existing research links poor maternal sleep to higher BMI, higher rates of physical health conditions, and more behavioral problems in the child, making quality sleep during pregnancy not just a comfort issue but a health one (source).
What Pregnancy mode does, automatically, every night
Once activated in the Eight Sleep app, each night Pregnancy mode automatically adjusts your Pod’s temperature based on the week of your pregnancy and personal temperature preferences so you don’t have to think about it, ever.
If you are already an Eight Sleep member, simply activate Pregnancy Mode in the app when you learn you are pregnant. Pregnancy Mode will use your Pod temperature history to inform temperature changes during your pregnancy. If you start using the Pod while already pregnant, the system begins with temperature recommendations drawn from population data of pregnant women, then personalizes as it learns your preferences. As your pregnancy progresses, Autopilot continues adapting quietly, keeping you comfortable each night.
Biometric insights, week by week
Pregnancy mode also surfaces personalized insights inside the app. Each week, you can see how key biometrics, including sleeping heart rate, HRV, respiratory rate, sleep stages, total sleep time, time to fall asleep, and snoring, are changing relative to your own pre-pregnancy baseline. Expected ranges for heart rate, HRV, and respiratory rate, based on research in pregnant populations, are displayed alongside your data so you can clearly track how your body is changing over time.
People with Pregnancy mode active also receive a personalized daily insight powered by Autopilot 4.1, Eight Sleep’s AI model optimized for a pregnant population.
Support doesn’t stop at delivery
Pregnancy mode continues through postpartum recovery, up to 24 weeks after delivery, adjusting Pod temperatures over time and displaying your biometrics relative to values during your third trimester as your body returns to normal.
To activate Pregnancy mode, go to your Pod settings in the Eight Sleep app.
“Most women know that they are not fully recovered by their 6 week postpartum checkup – I’m proud that Pregnancy mode acknowledges that women’s bodies are still recovering and it’s longer than a 6 week process” said Dr. Nicole Moyen, Senior Director of Science and Clinical Research at Eight Sleep. “During the Postpartum phase, Autopilot will keep adjusting your Pod’s temperature to help keep you sleeping as comfortably as possible during a time where sleep is limited and fragmented.”
Common questions
Can I use other modes while Pregnancy mode is active? Yes. Pregnancy mode is compatible with Hot Flash mode (Eight Sleep’s on-demand cooling and gradual rewarming feature) since roughly 35% of women experience hot flashes at some point during pregnancy and 29% experience them during postpartum (source). Pregnancy mode is also compatible with Nap mode for timed recovery sessions during the day.
Will my partner be able to see my Pregnancy mode insights? No. Pregnancy mode insights are only visible to the person who has the feature active.
Can I turn Pregnancy mode off at any time? Yes. You can turn it off by navigating to Pregnancy mode in the modes menu and selecting “Turn off pregnancy support.” You can also activate the Postpartum phase at any point, which will provide temperature changes and biometric insights as you return to your pre-pregnancy baseline.
Pregnancy mode is not an FDA-cleared health device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Pregnancy mode insights are not currently available for download or export outside of the Eight Sleep app.
