can weighted blankets help you sleep better?
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weighted blankets are frequently sold as sleep aids.
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there are few things on this planet that give me greater joy than making my home the most comfortable, relaxing place possible. so, one winter a few years ago, when my fiancé had a bout of insomnia, i sprang into action, gathering all the things that held promise for great sleep: black out curtains, a white noise machine and the cult favourite — a weighted blanket.
weighted blankets, which cost anywhere from $100 and up, are a sleep aid usually made in a duvet style, with the many squares throughout filled with heavy beads. lovers of the weighted blanket claim that under its weight they can relax faster, leading to a better and deeper sleep. these blankets weigh anywhere from five to 30 lbs and manufacturers generally recommend choosing one that’s no more than 10 per cent of your body weight, although this seems to be just a rule of thumb and not based in scientific study.
“absolutely love it,” my friend greg malone tells me over facebook one day. “rotating shifts makes getting to sleep hard, but my girlfriend got me one as a gift and i have found it’s made a big difference in falling and staying asleep.”
there aren’t any studies that prove weighted blankets do indeed help people fall and stay asleep. however, deep pressure therapy (dpt) — the act of using firm, but gentle pressure on the body to reduce anxiety and arousal — has been practiced for centuries in various forms.
in 1987, a limited study found that many college students who used dpt reported feeling less anxious after experiencing full-body pressure for 15-minutes (in an adorably titled hug’m machine), although the researchers did not note any physical changes like lower heart rate or blood pressure that would indicate the participants were more relaxed.
that being said, a 2016 study found that patients who used a weighted blanket while having their wisdom teeth removed tended to have a slower heart rate (higher heart rate variability) than patients who did the procedure without, which may indicate that they were more relaxed. however, many patients didn’t report feeling more relaxed and since they each only went through the procedure once, it’s difficult to tell if the weighted blanket was the key to calming down.
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however, for as many people who love the weighted blanket, there seem to be just as many theories for why it may help. some say that simply the fact that a weighted blanket makes it more difficult to toss and turn at night makes for a better night’s sleep, while others claim it has something to do with compressing the blood vessels on the surface of our skin that causes our heart rate to slow down. it also could be that the feeling reminds us of times when we felt the safest, like getting a hug from someone who cares for us or when our parents’ would swaddle us as newborns.
it also might not be due to any specific physiological facts, but instead a preference. similar to how many people adore the feeling of a soft blanket against their skin or can’t relax without their favourite scented candle burning, others might connect with the feeling of gentle, full-body pressure. the trick is finding the sensory cue that makes you the most comfortable.
“weighted blankets have been around for a long time, especially for kids with autism or behavioural disturbances,” dr. cristina cusin, an assistant professor of psychiatry at harvard medical school, told harvard health. “it is one of the sensory tools commonly used in psychiatric units. patients who are in distress may choose different types of sensory activities — holding a cold object, smelling particular aromas, manipulating dough, building objects, doing arts and crafts — to try to calm down.”
weighted blankets aren’t for everyone, however. my fiancé immediately disliked the 20-lb blanket i had picked up and said it made him feel like he was trapped. he’s not alone in this.
“i liked it at first but then as the night went on i felt trapped,” heather eickmann, a family friend, told me. “also, i sleep on my side and it really started to make my hip and knee joints ache.”
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with the weighted blanked making my partner’s sleep worse, i decided to give it a try. and while i didn’t find it too heavy to curl up under, the 20-lb blanket did turn making the bed into a small strength exercise. overall, i tend to be a good sleeper, so swapping out blankets didn’t make any outstanding differences to the quality of my snooze. however, later that summer, after a few months of using the weighted blanket i found myself waking up at night for a completely different reason. the blanket was hot.
i put it away for the summer thinking that, for me, it might be the perfect ingredient for a winter hygge set-up and nothing more. the next night, though, i was having trouble getting to sleep. something was missing. turns out i had come to rely on the full-body squeeze more than i realized.
when a weighted blanket may not be your thing
regardless of how you like to sleep at night, if you have any respiratory concerns like sleep apnea or asthma, a weighted blanket might not be a good idea. physicians also warn against using them on young children.
while the weighted blanket may not have been the cure for my partner’s insomnia, it did actually help in a more indirect kind of way. now that i prefer to sleep with just that and a top sheet, he has full domain of the comforter, meaning we can each toss and turn with abandon and not worry about stealing the blankets. and guess what? we’re both sleeping very well these days.
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