The snoring score

"I want to send you something I'm working on…"

Ugh. My friend Matteo asked to send me his mattress gadget. I didn't want it.

I knew it would end up rotting in my basement with all the other expensive health tech, next to my Theragun, red-light therapy panel, and infrared-sauna blanket.

I guarantee you've heard of Matteo's company: Eight Sleep.

Every podcaster won't shut up about it. It's a temperature-controlled mattress pad that supposedly optimizes your sleep.

But I thought it was unnecessary. I blast my AC at arctic levels and the idea of a water-filled pad on my bed seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

So, when the box arrived, I ignored it for three months.

Matteo kept texting: "How do you like it?"

After his fourth follow-up, guilt won out. I explained to Zoe that he'd sent it, and it was expensive so we had to try it.

She was unimpressed. She was already bothered by my gadget addiction, and now it was invading our bedroom.

The first night, I didn't notice much. But to my surprise, Zoe loved it.

For years she'd been waking up in the middle of the night, too hot or too cold, tossing and turning for hours. The Eight Sleep had automatically adjusted her temperature all night and prevented it.

It turns out that women's hormonal cycles cause wild temperature fluctuations during sleep, and Eight Sleep tunes your side of the bed based on your age and gender.

It's pretty cool. It learns your patterns and preferences, then adjusts accordingly—cooling for deep sleep, warming for REM, then gently heating to wake you up in the morning.

For me, it took three weeks to notice the benefits. But then I discovered something that might have saved my relationship: the sleep tracking showed exactly when and how much I snored.

I snore. Really badly. Zoe used to elbow me awake 3-4 times every single night.

The app showed me exactly when and how much I snored and I became obsessed with my "snoring score." Side sleeping—20% reduction. Breathe Right strips—a further 50% drop.

Within six weeks, I'd cut my snoring by 70%. No more elbowing.

Now, we both wake up feeling more refreshed. We're eight months in, and we're hooked.

I know the last thing you think you need is a mattress cooling system, but I'm telling you, DO IT.

Check out Eight Sleep here

PS: Matteo gave me a discount code: NEVERENOUGH (saves you $300)

Originally published in the I want you to hate me issue of Never Enough.