What is a Weighted Blanket & Why I Love Mine for Sleeping

What is a weighted blanket and what are weighted blankets used for? Weighted blankets were designed for people with sensory difficulties, or autism. Friends of mine with autistic children say their children use and love theirs, and find them very comforting for their child. However, a lot of people with sleep issues (raising my hand here!) have begun using them to great success.

review of review of weighted blanket I purchased

It’s important to note that not all weighted blanket are manufactured the same. Some are handmade, some mass produced and some made of different fabric with their own material inside. My review is based only on the experience I had with this particular weighted blanket. I bought a weighted blanket four months ago with the hopes of sleeping better at night.

I do not have autism or sensory issues, however I do have sleep issues which I’ll go into in a minute. A lot of discussion is out there that weighted blankets are transferable to people with sleep or anxiety issues and people have found weighted blankets helpful to sleep better at night. After using this blanket for some time, I’m sharing my experience sleeping with a weighted blanket. The one I purchased is from Amazon. You can view it here.

what are weighted blankets used for:

People with sensory difficulties, or autism use weighted blankets a lot. Friends of mine with autistic children say their children use and love theirs, and find them very comforting for their child.

However, a lot of people with sleep issues (raising my hand here!) have begun using them to great success.

The idea is to help calm and soothe people with anxiety and lull them into better sleep. Through the pressure and comfort of weight a lot of highly stressed people feel like it’s a big hug!

my sleep issues:

My entire life I’ve had horrible restless leg. I also have what’s called Periodic Sleep Movement Disorder. So imagine the sensation of wanting to shake your leg until you fall asleep, and then having your leg uncontrollably kick, shake and move all night. Restful, right?

I’ve had three sleep studies – spaced every 4 years or so. During each one they have documented that I kick and move over 500 times within a span of 6 hours and wake my brain nerves up. So in 6 hours, they scientifically think I only sleep 90 minutes, and not consecutively. Now their idea of sleeping is different than the average person’s idea of sleeping so I know (I must or how could I function?!) sleep more so I take this with a grain of salt.

I talk in my sleep a lot, and also wake up acting out my dreams, yelling, the works.

I’m also, by nature, a high intensity person with anxiety.

Add all of this into one pretty present and I’m an absolute joy to sleep next to! My poor husband is a very tired (and highly patient!) man. Thank goodness he’s supportive because I put him through the ringer!

To those of you wondering, yes, I have great doctors who help treat me for all of this and I’ve tried almost every suggestion you could throw at me!

why I use a weighted blanket

All of the above is what made my husband suggest I try a weighted blanket for sleep.
Science is beginning to show that it can help with my issues, so I figured, why the hell not try it. I’ve tried everything else!

does a weighted blanket work?

Yes, but I have caveats.

The good: it does indeed give you a sense of calm before sleeping. It helps me slow down my brain and body. I do not feel like I’m being suffocated at all. It has the feeling of being in a pool with a weightless float. You do instantly start to feel soothed. My husband and kids have all tried it and feel the same!

The bad: if you’re recovering from any surgery (like my knee) and pressure is hard on your joints I would tread carefully. My knee surgery makes me have to bend my knee often while I sleep for relief. Adding pressure to the knee would make me wake very, very sore. Think of it as going through physical therapy while sleeping. Not relaxing. So if you have hip, knee, leg – any form of joint pain I am not exactly sure this would bode well for you.

I stopped using the weighted blanket for this reason, but will go back to it as my knee heals.

what weighted blanket to buy?

I see no reason to buy the top of the line. The construction seems the same throughout (if you disagree or have a different experience, please let me know.)

how much weight should be in a weighted blanket

The recommendation is to buy a blanket that’s 15% of your body weight. I own a 15 pound blanket. Now I only weigh 130 pounds, but this was the lightest I could buy within my price point I was willing to spend. But use the 15% of your body weight as a good figure when figuring out how much weight should be in a weighted blanket used for you.

important notes:

The blankets are not king or even queen size. They are made for one person. So this will not be a shareable blanket. My images on blog reflect how big mine is on a king bed. So if you’re spouse or loved one shares a bed with you and wants one, you will need two.

I don’t sleep with mine every night. I pick and choose when I feel I need it. While it isn’t any hotter than a duvet blanket, it does have some ooph by the shear nature of the fabric used to hold in the weight. So on nights I feel hot, I prefer to not use it.

how to wash a weighted blanket:

I do not wash my blanket weekly for fear of ruining it. Because I use it on top of a sheet it doesn’t feel dirty.
How to wash a weighted blanket ttips I have followed are:
- Wash alone. You want to be sure nothing can snag it.
- Cold water, delicate cycle.
- I use Woolite to be extra safe on material.
- I use a Speed Queen Washing Machine, top loader. I carefully distribute blanket around to be sure it’s evenly weighted in washer.
- Air dry. Dry if needed for a few minutes after nearly dry with a towel to fluff.
Dry cleaning, warming in a microwave or using a high intensity cycle is not advised.