Looking for a way to make snuggling down for the night on a cushy mattress even better? You might want to try adding a weighted blanket to your bedroom. It can make you feel like you’re enveloped in a continuous hug all night long and using one either at night or for a quick nap, can provide you with numerous benefits.
Have you ever heard of a weighted or gravity blanket before? No worries if you haven’t. In this guide, we’ll go over all the benefits of sleeping with a heavy blanket and the places you can find the best ones available.
What Are Weighted Blankets?
Weighted blankets are heavy blankets that weigh between five and 30 pounds. They’re typically filled with glass beads or plastic pellets. When you lay the heavy blanket on top of you, the added weight from the pellets or beads creates a calming effect.
Weighted blankets typically come with a fabric cover. This helps to provide a cushioning layer between the inner weight of the blanket and the sleeper’s body. The types of fabrics used include:
- Flannel
- Fleece
- Cotton
- Chenille
- Polyester
- Microfiber
- Rayon
- Linen
- Minky
If you’re shopping for a weighted blanket, we recommend you look for one with a removable cover. You’ll be able to wash it yourself when it gets dirty instead of having to take it to the dry cleaner.
What Do Weighted Blankets Do?
Weighted blankets utilize deep pressure stimulation (DPS) as a technique to make you feel more relaxed and secure. As pressure is applied to your body, either by a blanket, or certain tools or hands, your nervous system begins to relax.
In the sixties, scientist Dr. Temple Grandin invented her Hug Machine to use deep pressure stimulation to provide sensory benefits to adults and children with autism. Weighted blankets rely on similar principles and so can provide some of the same benefits.
Weighted blankets lightly press on a person’s body. Oxytocin is then released by the body as it experiences pressure from the blanket. Serotonin and dopamine levels in your brain also increase under that pressure.
Deep pressure stimulation can also:
- Improve your mood
- Lessen your anxiety
- Relieve your pain
As a person begins to experience these “feel good” chemicals, they’ll begin to feel a sense of happiness, well-being, and calm. Weighted blankets have become a normal part of many people’s daily sleep routines. They’re also an effective component of other treatments, such as massage therapy.
What Do Weighted Blankets Help With?
Weighted blankets provide a lot of the same benefits as deep pressure therapy. They’ve been used to help calm people or animals that are feeling overly stressed or have a hyperactive disorder.
They can also help improve a person’s social interactions during the day, because they may have contributed to that person’s restful night’s sleep the night before. Not having a good night’s sleep impacts every area of your life.
A lot of people toss and turn at night. A weighted blanket can help reduce your nighttime movement. The blanket provides a “cocooning” effect that can help reduce your movements at night.
A weighted blanket can help your nervous system relax and go into “rest mode.” If your nervous system is overstimulated, that can result in hyperactivity, anxiety, and other issues. A weighted blanket can often be a remedy for this, reducing some of the symptoms of anxiety, like shortness of breath.
Your weighted blanket will also help decrease your heart rate. Since the blanket mimics touch therapy, it’ll help ground and calm you, reducing the symptoms of conditions that can cause increased heart rate.
Adults like the feeling of being swaddled as much as babies do. Being swaddled makes people feel more secure, and this is precisely why so many people enjoy using weighted blankets.
Here Are Our Picks
With so many weighted blankets available in stores, how do you know which is the best one to go with? We’ve gathered our top four recommendations for you to explore.
Saatva’s Weighted Blanket
The organic weighted blanket from Saatva is made from 100% organic cotton velvet. You can choose from a smaller size that weighs 15 pounds, or one that’s a bit larger at 25 pounds. And they come in taupe or graphite vintage velvet.
The Saatva weighted blanket is filled with all-natural glass beads. It’s made in fair trade factories, and if sustainability is important to you, this weighted blanket is a must-have.
Helix Sleep’s Weighted Blanket
Helix Sleep’s weighted blanket has a premium, soothing design. One side of the cover is made from soft fleece and the other side has sheared microfibers.
No matter which side you choose, you’re guaranteed to be cozy as you snuggle up underneath it. You can choose from 10, 15, or 20-pound blankets. Helix also gives you a 100-day trial to ensure you’re happy with your blanket.
Layla Weighted Blanket
The Layla weighted blanket is also made with glass beads. The pockets of beads are sewn in between two layers of batting, keeping your blanket nice and quiet. It’s also completely washable.
Layla’s weighted blanket is double-sided. One side has cotton and the other is a mink fabric, so you can choose the feel of the fabric you want on your body depending on your mood.
Gravity Blanket
This gravity blanket comes with a micro-plush duvet cover that you can remove and toss in the washing machine. It’s also filled with the highest-quality glass beads. Choose from 15, 20, or 25-pound options.
Depending upon the decor of your bedroom, pick a grey, navy, or white blanket.
Sleep Better With a Weighted Blanket Today
The effectiveness of weighted blankets varies from person to person. Sleeping, napping, or relaxing under a weighted blanket can provide you with countless benefits, even if that benefit is just feeling cozy and warm. Investing in a quality weighted blanket can be the difference in your sleep routine that you need to have you sleeping and feeling better.
And If you need help picking a new mattress, so you can create the ultimate bedroom sanctuary, we have recommendations for that too. Check out our online mattress reviews to help you find the best mattress for you, based on your sleep preferences.