Our Sleep Science
The Helix Sleep
Genome Project
Since 2015, we’ve conducted multiple sleep studies and collected millions of data points, and have used that information to help you get a better night’s sleep. Let’s dive into why.
Buying a mattress is confusing. How do you know which is right for you?
How can a single mattress feel best for everyone? Realistically, it can’t. Our world is filled with unique humans, each with their own body type and set of sleeping preferences. In partnership with sleep scientists and ergonomic experts, we developed a custom algorithm — the Helix Sleep Quiz — to match people to the mattress that fits their body and preferences.
For over a decade, we’ve leveraged millions of data points from Helix Sleep Quiz takers, conducted countless hours of research, and moved all of our manufacturing in-house, all to create and refine mattresses that truly make a difference for your body. The result is longer, deeper sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed, brought to you by data.
Refined by 10 million sleepers
We use real customer feedback across tens of millions of data points to help refine both our products and our quiz algorithm. We don’t just make the most comfortable mattress: we make the right mattress for you.
Studied to make a difference
Our mattresses have been put to the test in multiple sleep studies and held up: outcomes consistently demonstrate that switching to a Helix Mattress designed for your sleep style and preferences results in better rest. Better sleep isn’t just something you feel — it’s something we can measure.
We look for...
We think about sleep optimization across multiple levels, including:
• Overall measured sleep quality
• Time spent in deep sleep cycles
• Time spent falling asleep
• Back & shoulder pain levels
• Daily readiness
In partnership with breakthrough sleep technology company Wesper, we measured sleep performance in participants after switching from their old mattress to a Helix mattress.
Wesper is a diagnostic device that can generate accurate insights about the quality of your breathing, amount of time snoring, sleeping positions, heart rate, sleep time, sleep efficiency, and sleep staging (wake / light / deep / REM).
Wesper can detect 4 sleep states - Wake, Light, Deep, and REM, based on your breathing, heart rate, and movement patterns.
Participants were selected to test each Helix mattress model across the Core, Luxe, and Elite collections.
Phase 1 - Baseline: Participants tracked their sleep on a non-Helix mattress with the Wesper sleep device for approximately 2 weeks. Participants were asked to track their sleep on nights when they had otherwise “normal” days, i.e. not travel days or particularly busy and stressful days.
Phase 2 - Helix: Participants tracked their sleep on their new Helix mattress with their Wesper device for 4 weeks. Participants were asked to track their sleep on nights when they had otherwise “normal” days, i.e. not travel days or particularly busy and stressful days.
Results
82% of participants saw an increase in their deep sleep cycle.1
On average, participants achieved 25 more minutes of deep sleep per night.1
On average, participants achieved 39 more minutes of overall sleep per night.1
We conducted a qualitative survey of over 1,000 recent Helix customers to understand how they perceived their sleep before and after switching to a Helix mattress.
By asking customers about their experience directly, we aimed to better comprehend their lived experiences: any changes they physically felt in their beds and in their bodies after they started sleeping on a Helix mattress.
A diverse selection of over 1,000 customers who purchased a Helix mattress answered qualitative questions in an online survey to understand how their sleep had changed since they switched to their Helix mattress, including questions about sleep quality, improvements in pain, headaches, and how refreshed they felt when they were awake. Every age, gender, and location was included. Participants were not directly compensated for completing the survey.
Results
89% of participants reported improved sleep, woke up refreshed, or experienced less pain than on their previous mattress.2
83% of participants who switched to a Helix Luxe mattress improved their sleep.2
74% of participants who had prior back pain felt a reduction in their back pain.2
We analyzed sleep data from people using Fitbit and Garmin wearable devices to measure quantitative changes in sleep when using their old mattress and after switching to a Helix mattress.
We chose Fitbit and Garmin devices to measure sleep quality due to their rich, detailed level of quantitative sleep data, measured via highly comparable methods.
Fitbit devices track sleep using movement and heart rate patterns to predict sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) and determine a sleep score based on how long you slept, the quality of your sleep, and the restoration you experience.
Garmin devices track sleep taking into account multiple factors, from the time you fell asleep and woke up, as well as details including the quantity of time you spent in each sleep stage and when those stages occurred. Sleep times and stages are determined based on a combination of heart rate, heart rate variability, and body movement data. It also derives a sleep score based on sleep duration and quality factors.
To be eligible for this study, participants must have used their wearable device consistently each day for three months before switching to a Helix mattress, and for three months after switching to a Helix mattress. The study included 45 Fitbit users and 29 Garmin users on any Helix mattress of their choosing.
Phase 1 - Baseline: Participants tracked their sleep consistently on a non-Helix mattress with a Fitbit or Garmin sleep tracking device for approximately 90 days. This set our baseline for sleep quality, including sleep phases (light, deep, REM), waking movements, sleep scores, and more.
Phase 2 - Helix: Participants tracked their sleep consistently on a Helix mattress with a Fitbit or Garmin sleep tracking device for approximately 45 days after an initial 45 day break-in period.
Results
93% of participants slept longer, deeper, or woke up less during the night on their Helix Mattress than on their previous mattress.³3
Based on an in-home study of participants who tracked sleep using Wesper devices. This is not a clinical trial. Some sleep performance metrics are investigational. Results should not be interpreted as guarantees or predictions of future outcomes for other individuals or groups.
Based on an in-home study of over 1000 participants. Results should not be interpreted as guarantees or predictions of future outcomes for other individuals or groups.
Based on an in-home study using wearable devices measuring sleep performance of individuals after switching from their previous mattress to a Helix mattress. Results should not be interpreted as guarantees or predictions of future outcomes for other individuals or groups.