This article will discuss what a weighted blanket is and its purpose so you can decide if a weighted blanket is a good choice for you.
- What Is a Weighted Blanket?
- What Is the Purpose of a Weighted Blanket?
- What Are the Pros and Cons of Weighted Blankets
- Are Weighted Blankets Safe?
- Sleeping With the Layla Weighted Blanket
- Wrapping Up: What Is the Purpose of a Weighted Blanket?
What Is a Weighted Blanket?
Weighted blankets are similar to regular blankets, but they have more weight to them. Most weighted blankets are stitched and filled with beads to give them their additional weight. These blankets’ weights typically range from 5lb to 25lbs, and there are different kinds of weighted blankets.
Knitted weighted blankets get their weight from a denser yarn, while duvet-style weighted blankets look more like quilts and can be filled with plastic, steel, or glass beads, sand, grains, or even rocks.
Weighted blankets provide gentle pressure in the form of deep touch pressure therapy, which may reduce stress levels and calm your mind and body. Deep pressure therapy (DPT) activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which can help lower your heart rate when you’re stressed or having anxiety. Even if you’re not anxious, a weighted blanket can help you feel calm after a long day at work.
Because a weighted blanket uses DPT, it feels similar to a hug or like you’re being swaddled, which can help relax your mind and body through the nervous system. These filled blankets gently press on the body, which can make you feel just as good as getting a hug. In addition, DPT may increase dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that can boost your mood and help you feel relaxed.
What Is the Purpose of a Weighted Blanket?
Weighted blankets are designed to simulate DPT to help you sleep better. However, because they’re intended to help people relax and feel happier and calmer, they can help with a wide range of conditions, including:
- Insomnia: One major purpose of a weighted blanket is to promote sleep, which can help improve insomnia. A weighted blanket reduces the heart rate through DPT, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- Depression: As mentioned, DPT through weighted blankets may increase dopamine and serotonin, two chemicals that can help boost your mood. Weighted blankets may reduce depression in individuals due to their ability to make you feel better, just like when you get a hug.
- Anxiety: Anxiety is a condition that causes your heart rate to accelerate. As we’ve mentioned, weighted blankets can reduce your heart rate to make you feel calmer. Plus, weighted blankets can help people suffering from anxiety sleep better, which can help improve their anxiety overall. The DPT simulation from a weighted blanket can help you fall asleep while comforting you to help you sleep better and feel better the next day. Additionally, you don’t have to use a weighted blanket just for sleep. Weighted blankets have these same benefits during the day. If you’re having a panic attack or feeling anxious about anything, you can wrap yourself up in a weighted blanket, which may help you calm down faster.
- Autism: People with sensory disorders, such as autism, can become easily overstimulated, which can cause severe distress. Weighted blankets can be beneficial for people who easily become overstimulated because they promote calmness by activating the sense of touch.
- ADHD: Weighted blankets can also help those with ADHD because of their ability to calm overstimulation. Additionally, weighted blankets can help someone be less distracted through their sense of touch. Weighted blankets also provide just enough weight to help someone feel grounded so that they can focus.
The purpose of weighted blankets is to help anyone relax through DPT simulation. Whether you suffer from a sleep disorder or another condition that’s causing you to stay awake at night, or you just want to calm down at the end of a long day, you can use a weighted blanket to make you feel more relaxed and help you get the rest you need.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Weighted Blankets?
There are pros and cons to weighted blankets that you should consider before making a purchase. They are not a cure for any type of illness or disorder, and some might not find the same relief as others through DPT. As you already know, weighted blankets can help promote calmness, but they might not be right for all situations. Here are the pros and cons of weighted blankets.
Pros of Weighted Blankets
Comfort
One of the main benefits of weighted blankets is their ability to promote comfort. Weighted blankets work similarly to swaddling infants to help them feel comfortable. Many people find that weighted blankets help them calm down after a long, stressful day so they can get more comfortable in bed and fall asleep faster.
Stress-relief
DPT through weighted blankets may help people manage stress that is interfering with sleep. Weighted blankets can help people sleep better at night so they can manage their stress better the next day.
Improves sleep quality
One of the main purposes of weighted blankets is to help people sleep better through DPT simulation. Weighted blankets may reduce cortisol levels while increasing natural melatonin production to help you sleep and improve sleep quality. Using a weighted blanket can help reduce tossing and turning to make it easier for you to stay still at night. DPT can also increase serotonin levels to promote better sleep naturally.
Alleviates pain
Weighted blankets can also alleviate pain by helping release tension. The DPT simulation from the weighted blanket signals your brain to let you know it’s time to relax, which can help release tension all over your body. Additionally, weighted blankets improve sleep, which is important for healing. Everyone needs sleep to let their bodies and minds fully recover, but pain can make falling asleep and staying asleep difficult. Unfortunately, lack of sleep means your body can’t repair itself, and you’ll take longer to recover, resulting in a cycle of pain and lack of sleep.
Luckily, weighted blankets can help alleviate pain by helping you sleep better at night so your body can heal itself, which means less pain over time and better sleep overall. Not only do weighted blankets help you sleep better while releasing the tension, but they also reduce the stress associated with pain.
Cons of Weighted Blankets
Adjustment period
With everything new, especially new sensations, there might be an adjustment period. If you’re used to blankets that have virtually no weight, sleeping with a weighted blanket can feel strange at first. If you find you can’t sleep with a weighted blanket, try using it while you’re awake, such as when watching TV on the couch, so you can begin to get used to the feeling of DPT.
Not always safe for children
Weighted blankets should be chosen based on the weight of the person. Weighted blankets of all weights are not always safe for kids. Additionally, if it’s not a quality weighted blanket, the filling can come out and be a choking hazard for small children.
Price
Weighted blankets are typically more expensive than your average blanket, but that’s because they offer more benefits and require the use of more materials. When looking for a weighted blanket, shop around to find the highest quality materials used in weighted blankets at the best price.
Difficult to travel with
Weighted blankets are heavy when the weight is not dispersed over your entire body. If you try to fold your blanket to take it with you on your travels, that’s additional weight in your bag. While your blanket might not feel heavy while you’re lying under it, it will be heavy to carry around, so they’re not easy to travel with.
Are Weighted Blankets Safe?
Weighted blankets are safe, but you should always follow the 10% body weight rule when shopping for one. Weighted blankets are not suitable for small children or infants because of the 10% rule, which states how heavy should a weighted blanket be. For example, if you have a small child who weighs 30lbs, it will be difficult to find a 3lb blanket, but getting them one that’s much heavier can be dangerous because they might not be strong enough to move around under it.
However, weighted blankets are generally safe for adults and adolescents, as long as the person using the blanket can lift the blanket off themselves to prevent suffocation. Learn more about how to choose a weighted blanket.
Sleeping With the Layla Weighted Blanket
The Layla Weighted Blanket delivers DPT to help relax your body and mind through gentle pressure across your entire body that feels like a big hug from your favorite person or pet. The weighted blanket can help you relax after a long day and fall asleep faster while getting more quality sleep every night.
The Layla Weighted Blanket is made of plush and 300-thread count 100% cotton that’s machine washable, so you’ll never need to wonder how to wash a weighted blanket. Filled with glass beads, the weight is carefully distributed across your body evenly to provide a relaxing sensation no matter where you use your blanket.
Wrapping Up: What Is the Purpose of a Weighted Blanket?
There is no single purpose for using a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets can offer calmness and tranquility while potentially helping those who suffer from sleep problems or disorders that can cause sleep problems. Weighted blankets have many pros and cons, including promoting comfort and peacefulness, but they are difficult to travel with because they’re heavy.
Ultimately, sleeping with a weighted blanket is safe, but it’s best to ensure you can easily lift the blanket to be sure that you won’t get trapped underneath. Weighted blankets can help people of all kinds get the rest they deserve after a long day.
