Our everyday performance, energy levels, and mood mainly depend on the quality and durability of the night’s sleep. While sleep is essential for the functioning of the human body, quality, and regular sleep is essential for optimal health.

Living in a world lightened up by so many lights, driven by a fast-paced lifestyle and misplaced natural biorhythm, it’s no wonder almost half of the population suffers from sleep deprivation and sleep problems caused by disturbed sleep-wake cycle. Consequently, the same number of people suffer from physical or mental health difficulties directly caused by sleeping problems.

In order to alleviate the symptoms of sleep deprivation, and many health issues that arise from the same, people have turned to the use of weighted blankets. Once a therapeutic tool, used only by acute psychiatry only, today the weighted blanket has entered mainstream use in many modern forms and designs. From king and queen to twin size weighted blankets manufactured in different materials and fillings, but all made for the sole purpose of delivering restful sleep.

A weighted blanket can help a person alleviate sleeping problems while it may also deliver many additional benefits, directly related to quality sleep, and to the changes the use of this therapeutic tool triggers inside a person’s body.

Let’s take a closer look at the effects and benefits of sleeping with a weighted blanket.

The Effects of Using A Weighted Blanket

A weighted blanket resembles a regular one with a slight increase in weight. The idea of putting on a blanket slightly heavier than a usual one may seem like a simple concept. Albeit a simple concept, this makes the blanket a therapeutic tool that mimics a soothing hug. The calmness and feeling of safety and satisfaction the hug bring when someone’s body is close enough can also be provided by getting under a weighted blanket.

The light pressure that the weight provides stimulates the nerve endings underneath the skin. These signals travel to the central nervous system, signaling that the body is safe and secure. Once the nervous system gets the signal, it puts the parasympathetic nervous system “in charge”. The parasympathetic nervous system or the so-called “rest and digest state” of the body operates using dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins or rather known as the “hormones of happiness”.

Once the secretion of these hormones increases, a person enjoys the feeling of satisfaction, happiness, grounding, and deep relaxation. These strong chemical reactions cause changes inside the body that are beneficial in many ways. So let’s take a look at the benefits the use of a weighted blanket can provide by triggering these changes.

The Benefits

Reducing Stress to a Minimum

When stress occurs, the body activates the opposite state “the fight or flight” ruled by the sympathetic nervous system. Moreover, stress hormones are taking over the body. A prolonged state of stress damages all functions in the body and affects the psychological health causing long-term problems. Being extremely hard to fight stress due to worrisome thoughts that overwhelm us and the stressful lifestyle, covering them with the blanket is the most effective way of coping with stress so far.

As mentioned above, the blanket acts like sort of a switch, and the chemical changes that occur in the body can not be overruled by any worrisome thought. Keeping in mind that stress causes serious psychological and physical illnesses, dealing with this state using a weighted blanket on a daily basis is very important.

Improving Sleep and Aiding Disrupted Sleep Patterns

More or less, each person faces sleeping problems and the causes of these problems are numerous. The most common cause of disrupted sleep patterns as a result of the light-emitting screens we are constantly exposed to.  Moreover, serious problems with sleeping like insomnia, caused by stress or unexpected stressful occurrence in life, are common. The effects of a lack of sleep on humans’ health are frightening.

Fights illness

If your body is fighting an illness, lack of sleep will make it weak and incapable of recovery. A weighted blanket provides quality sleep as an essential component of a strong organism ready to recover. Moreover, if it is the problem with the illness that is keeping you awake at night, it is making it worse. The weighted blanket will calm your mind and help your body recover faster.

Mental health benefits

If your sleeping problems are a result of psychological disorders like depression or anxiety, the condition will get worse faster than expected.

A weighted blanket helps to ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety that are directly responsible for preventing one from falling asleep. With the weighted blanket and a good night’s sleep your body and mind are ready to fight the disorder giving you a clear mind to think and act.

Additional health benefits

Among other health problems that might benefit from the use of a weighted blanket are:

• • Restless leg syndrome
  • Post-traumatic distorted
  • High blood pressure
  • Sensory processing disorders
  • Helps fibromyalgia pain
  • Improves focus for ADHD

References:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6473877/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281147/
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J004v24n01_05
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3688151/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32204779/
• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212094839.htm
• https://www.jscimedcentral.com/SleepMedicine/sleepmedicine-2-1022.pdf
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/anxiety-and-stress-weighing-heavily-at-night-a-new-blanket-might-help
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-weighted-blankets-banish-nighttime-anxiety/