Is it true that sleeping with heavy blankets helps you sleep?
Have you ever heard of heavy blankets? According to several studies, they help to calm you down and sleep in a deep and pleasant way. Would you like to know what exactly they are and why they can help you sleep better? If you are one of those people who have a hard time sleeping, in addition to knowing how to get a good night’s sleep, it would be good for you to find out about heavy blankets.
And it is that they have great benefits, among which is better rest, tranquility, calm…
Therefore, they will help you not to move so much during the nights, and to have a deeper and more restful sleep. Do you want to know what they are, how they work, and what they are made of?
In this article, I am going to explain what heavy blankets are, and how they have gone from fashion to evidence. I’m also going to tell you what the research says, and the composition and materials from which they are made. Also, I’m going to talk to you about how to buy weighted blanket in the UK, and the great benefits they have.
Heavy blankets: from fashion to evidence
A few years ago, heavy blankets were seen as just another fad, nothing really important. Today, however, they are the main trend and all evidence. And no wonder, because they promise to end problems such as insomnia, stress, or anxiety.
For many people, it is difficult to fall asleep right out of bed. They roll over and over again at night and don’t get as much rest as they should. That is why they wake up tired, and often anxious. If that happens to you too and you want to avoid taking sleep medications, you could start by trying weight blankets. They have very good reviews from the people who use them. Many people claim that they sleep better since they have a weighted blanket and that they hardly move during the night. In any case, there are several investigations on the subject. Would you like to know what they say? Right now I’ll explain it to you…
Research results on heavy blankets
The truth is that scientific research is still a bit lacking, as heavy blankets are becoming more and more popular. Anyway, the same manufacturers do a lot of research.
A study showed that after using the blanket for 2 weeks, 31 men and women who suffered from moderate insomnia, managed to have a much calmer sleep, with less movement. Also in another study, they investigated 32 adults who started using heavy blankets. 63% were shown to have less anxiety than before, and 78% said they preferred the heavy blanket as it helped them calm down.
Another of the studies conducted analyzed the total sleep time of 67 children with an autism spectrum disorder. They were randomly assigned to sleep with a heavy or normal blanket for 2 weeks. When finished, they switched to the other type of blanket for another 2 weeks. The researchers concluded that both children and parents preferred the weighted blanket. However, there was no evidence that they more or less slept with the heavy blanket.
Finally, the company Gravity Blankets has recently carried out a study, in which it has analyzed the use of the heavy blanket during more than 1,000 nights of sleep. As reported, 72% of the users of the blanket had a more relaxed and restful sleep.
Therefore, according to experts, heavy blankets help you sleep peacefully. And it is that they transmit a deep stimulation due to the pressure they exert as if it were a hug or a massage. They also claim that it can help older people and children with anxiety, autism, and attention issues.
What is a weighted blanket?
Well, I have already explained to you how they have gone from being a simple fad to being evidence, and everything that the investigations say. But I still haven’t told you what weight blankets really are. Would you like to know?
It is a type of therapeutic blanket, which has a much higher weight than normal blankets. They were created with the aim of providing faster, deeper, and calmer sleep to their users. Inside it is distributed in different compartments, due to the filling it has. Normally it is usually filled with a kind of plastic balls (non-toxic) that can be: polyethylene pellets, small glass balls or glass stones, river stones…
The blankets usually weigh between 2.3kg and 12kg. But be careful, not everyone is served the same. Obviously, you can’t put a 12kg blanket on a 10kg child, not even a 20kg one. In order to choose the one that suits you best, you always have to calculate that the blanket has approximately 10% of the body mass of the person it is intended for.
Composition and materials of heavy blankets
Heavy blankets are generally made up of seven layers. These layers include the following materials: cotton, fleece (very fine and soft wool), breathable microfibers, and glass beads. In addition, they are very soft and pleasant blankets for the skin. And thanks to their breathable material, they totally avoid sweating. What give them weight are the balls that I have told you about. As I have told you, these balls can be polyethylene pellets, small glass balls or glass stones, river stones…
Benefits of heavy blankets
As I have told you, sleeping with this type of blanket has great benefits. It is true that not everyone is served in the same way; the effects may vary depending on the person. In any case, it has been shown that in most cases users obtain great advantages, such as: facilitating a deeper sleep, adapting perfectly to your body, getting more rest and totally restful sleep, freeing yourself from your anxiety and stress, taking less time to fall asleep, provide you with a state and feeling of calm and well-being…
Here are some of the cases in which the use of the weighted blanket can be a good tool:
People who have anxiety or learning disabilities for these types of people, heavy blankets can be very effective and is that using them can get your brain to process information better. This is because the pressure that the blanket exerts on different parts of the body provides a very calming sensation.
Children and adults with autism also for these people, it could be a good option and is that heavy blankets can provide a feeling of protection and tranquility, quite similar to that of a baby when his mother takes him in her arms.
People with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder you have to know that thanks to the weighted blanket, you will be able to keep these types of disorders under control, and this will make you better understand things, and have greater learning.
