There is a new trending hype with weighted blankets that is seeming to strike a lot of peoples interests.
A weighted blanket is an actual blanket that has weight added to it with pellets.
They vary from weighing about 15 pounds to 30 pounds, depending on your own personal body weight. The goal is for the blanket to be about 10 percent of your overall body weight. Everyone is different though, so you may like it heavier or lighter then the recommended weight. For reference, if someone weighs 150 pounds, the recommended weighted blanket would be 15 pounds.
This video below will give you some insight on how the blanket actually works with science to back it up.
This video describes how hard it is for some people to fall asleep, with stating about 70
% of Americans have trouble falling asleep at least one night a week. Along with 18% of the country suffering from prolonged anxiety. The blanket acts as a deep pressure simulator to increase overall relaxation within the body. Which in turns helps increase serotonin and melatonin, and decreases cortisol levels, which is the body’s natural stress hormone. A study claimed that 90% of the participants who used the blanket felt and overall calmer and reduced anxiety while using the weighted blanket.
This commercial describes the blanket as a natural way to relax in order to fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer. The blanket is described as he right amount of pressure in order to promote the body’ natural production of serotonin and melatonin. The blanket is able to be used whenever and wherever and it was described as “wrapping their arms around me and felt comfort immediately.”
This video describes the weighted blanket as a replica of being swaddled as a baby in order to go to sleep. This makes you feel more secure and in less of a stressful state. The tactile comfort makes an individual just feels good, and it just works is how it is described in this video. It is a “deal guaranteed to help you sleep.”
All these videos promoted the weighted blanket as it was also described in the literature reviews as well.
~The following are the literature reviews that correlate with the media~
Medical News today:
Benefits that are discussed in this article are the deep pressure touch simulation (then talks about what that is) and how the weighted blanket mimics a hug. They also go into discussing how it helps your body release serotonin and melatonin in order to improve overall sleep quality. This article then discussing how it can be used to help autism, PTSD, sleep disorders, and nervous system disorders. In order to make the reader aware, then reiterate that using a weighted blanket has no side effects. Then it talks about how to make one for yourself vs. Buying it online or from a store.
Fletcher, J. (2017, April 21). Weighted blankets for anxiety: Uses and benefits. Retrieved January 6, 2018, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317037.php
Harkla Co:
This article discusses how a weighted blanket works (deep touch pressure) is how they word it. It talks about how proprioceptive and DPT helps to release serotonin (a neurotransmitter to help regulate brain functions). Calming affects is of the nervous system is discussed as well in this article. It backs up their information with research and states “ use of a 30-lb weighted blanket resulted in adult participants reporting lower anxiety (63%), lower physiological data (blood pressure, pulse rate, pulse oximetry), and positive calming effects (78%). These effects also have a positive impact on sleep, as sleep is more restorative when anxiety is low and factors such as blood pressure and pulse are well-maintained.” (Ford Lanza, 2018)
Ford-Lanza, A. (2018, November 20). Everything You Need to Know About Weighted Blankets for Adults. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://harkla.co/blogs/special-needs/weighted-blankets-adults
Live Science:
This article starts off with how they were referred to as a tool for therapist in psychiatry. They phrase the proposal of deep pressure in a little different way than other articles stating, “deep pressure helping to calm that arousal level in the system and to help with self-regulation.” (Pappas, 2018) The research on weighted blankets this article bases off of states that researchers found a drop in the arousal level when utilizing the blanket in order to make falling asleep easier and faster. Then they stated that even if the blanket is not helping you, its also not hurting you by using it. Some people cannot fathom sleeping under something that is 20lbs, and this is something that is not discussed in either of the other articles nor the media reviews, and this statement is very accurate for a lot of people.
Pappas, S. (2018, November 22). Weighted Blankets: How They Work. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.livescience.com/59315-weighted-blankets-faq.html
In conclusion, all these media and literature review articles on the benefits of the weighted blankets have the same conclusion…
THEY WORK!!!
So if you or someone you know thinks a weighted blanket could be beneficial for their overall stress, anxiety, or sleep patterns, it probably will be.
No Need to suffer any longer!
