Weighted Blankets - please can someone explain?

[TrickyD]

I keep seeing them mentioned, but only recently, they must be a new thing.

What is the point? How is their effect different from a good electric blanket and high TOG duvet? Can you use them with an electric blanket?

I see them recommended as good for snuggling on the sofa, but I am more interested in their use on the bed and whether there is any point in suggesting one as a Christmas present. It might help DH avoid his usual panic stricken Christmas Eve trip to Boots hunting for something scented.

I have ASD, sensory needs, SAD and restless legs that are helped by my weighted blanket. When I’m under it my mind magically clears and I can actually sleep. Since I got it, I’ve had only 2 sleepless nights and they were both because I had caffeine too late in the day 🙈 even then, I was asleep by 1am. I’d love to be under it all the time, but I save it for bedtime so it doesn’t lose its effect. I use it over my duvet so it doesn’t need washing as much as normal bedding. It doesn’t really add any warmth at all, I’m comfortable in pyjamas, duvet and blanket.

DS has also been sleeping badly since lockdown and asked for one as he used to go and get mine to use on the sofa in the evening. He’s been sleeping normally since he got it.

DH has now decided that he wants to sleep under my weighted blanket too 🙈 he was skeptical but loves it. It means that there’s less pressure on me though so we need to get him his own, especially as he also steals it in the night.

I must admit I feel uncomfortable when therapeutic aids become 'fashionable'. DS2 was 'prescribed' a weighted blanket to be used in primary school by his OT (ASD and ADHD and diagnosed SPD).

But if they start being used by those with no therapeutic need they may be banned - like fidget spinners - because their positive benefit for a few is outweighed by negative effects when adopted by the majority. Those who never had a therapeutic need in the first place are fine - not so much others.

Obviously I mean banned in schools not in the home

I got a koala one for Christmas last year and it is wonderful , I have converted several friends to try them and they love them too.

My laundrette washes and dries mine for £10

People who sleep with weighted blankets - do you need a lighter duvet to go with?

Also do they come single-bed size? People are saying 10% of body weight but over what area? I'm guessing larger ones would be too heavy to move.

Thinking of getting a couple for Christmas - with half a dozen autistic people in the family with sleep problems and liking snuggles, someone's bound to like them.
But are the £40 ones as good as the £300 ones or if not, what features to look for?

I'm a bit on the fence KeepOnKeepingOnAgainandAgain. I see your point about them being fashionable and the negative effect that may have. But I also see how much more accessible they have become to people who do need them because they are fashionable. I'm lucky in that my health service provide them free of charge for those who need them, but not everyone is so lucky to even get a formal diagnosis, let alone a prescription blanket.

But are the £40 ones as good as the £300 ones or if not, what features to look for?

Different ones suit different people. Best to try them out if you can. My therapist has different ones in her cupboard so I could see which one suited best. For me, the worst was the one with balls. Not little glass balls but great big, ball pit sized balls. Freaked me out no end.

Rule of thumb is 10% of body weight. So if you weigh 60 kg then you go for a 6 kg blanket. But it varies from person to person. Mine is less than 10% as I have fibromyalgia and too much weight is unbearable when it flares up.

For those with anxiety sleep issues, do they help with night waking? I have no trouble falling asleep but I can be awake anytime from 4am and can’t fall back to sleep. I had some ADs and the side effect was I slept like a log. I’ve come off them a few months ago and now the early waking is back.

And extra question, for us ladies of a certain age, do they keep you warm enough to sleep but not overheat?

@McWeedie

A weighted blanket causes pressure which people with anxiety and ASD find helps. They are therapeutic.

They are not some new thing for snuggling on a sofa. Spend 30 seconds on google and educate yourself.

Stroppy!

@Pobblebonk, I’ve just looked at several patterns, and a blanket knitted or crocheted in chunky or super chunky would probably weigh less than 2kg.

Posters are saying the blanket should weigh about 10% of the person using it. Even newborns often weigh more than 2kg so crocheting or knitting wouldn’t work - unless you add a lot of very heavy beads.

The first night I used my weighted blanket I felt like a butterfly pinned out on display, but I slept so well that my pillow was damp when I woke up from dribbling like Homer Simpson.

My duvet is one of those double ones where you unclip half during summer. I use the blanket and just the summer half of the duvet so I don't over heat. In the summer I just use the blanket. On the odd occasion I do have to poke out my feet to minimise the occasional hot flush.

@KeepOnKeepingOnAgainandAgain

I must admit I feel uncomfortable when therapeutic aids become 'fashionable'. DS2 was 'prescribed' a weighted blanket to be used in primary school by his OT (ASD and ADHD and diagnosed SPD).

But if they start being used by those with no therapeutic need they may be banned - like fidget spinners - because their positive benefit for a few is outweighed by negative effects when adopted by the majority. Those who never had a therapeutic need in the first place are fine - not so much others.

This is an interesting pov. Why do you think they might be banned. Where is the harm in people who don't have a formal diagnosis having a weighted blanket? I must be missing something.

My sister let me try hers. I couldn’t sleep at all. I found the weight very uncomfortable and it was far too hot.

But if they start being used by those with no therapeutic need they may be banned - like fidget spinners - because their positive benefit for a few is outweighed by negative effects when adopted by the majority. Those who never had a therapeutic need in the first place are fine - not so much others.

But why would there realistically be negative effects serious enough to bring about their being banned? Assuming they are used by adults, the worst that can happen is that some people will decide they don't like them and will stop using them.

Spend 30 seconds on google and educate yourself.
Helpful...

I have one, it's amazing for my anxiety and insomnia. When I got mine my husband (who gets anxious but does not have anxiety) decided he wanted one too but it doesn't help him at all.

I really don't think this is something that could be compared to fidget spinners though. Fidget spinners had a very obvious side use as a fun toy and a weighted blanket doesn't really have the same appeal to kids. Most of the people I know who have bought weighted blankets since they gained popularity are adults with high-functioning mental health conditions.

DS, 31, has had Night Terrors since he was a kid. Weighted blanket has stopped them altogether.

It's to stimulate deep pressure proprietors.

Especially for people who have sensory processing issues, this deep pressure helps the mind clear, and the body relax.

I get my husband to lay on top of me and I go to sleep. The weighted blanket works in a similar way. It should be no more than 10% of the person's weight. They are usually ordered for an individual.

I have one from gravity blanket. It cost over £100 which is a small fortune to me, but when I bought it they let you spread payments over 12 months. I did look at the cheaper ones, but had no payment option and a lot of them aren't standard single bed size so wouldn't fit in a duvet cover. There does seem to be more and more on the market every day though so this is less of a problem than it was.

Mine is just over 10% of my body weight but perfect for me. I don't need a duvet or any other blankets with it.
You shouldn't buy double bed sized ones if you share a bed as you won't get the benefit of the pressure.

My mum sent me a pattern to make a crochet weighted blanket, but it actually cost more in yarn than just buying one!

DS1 has stolen mine the past few weeks as he wasn't sleeping at all and its more important that he sleeps than I do. I now need to decide if I buy him a cheap one of his own and risk it not lasting (he's 16 so not child sized), buy him an expensive one like mine (currently 20% off plus free pillow), or buy the micro beads and fabric and make one.

DS has ASD and has been saying for a while that he feels ‘cold’ in bed. Even during that recent hot spell. I took a punt and guessed that he’s getting confused sensory wise about coldness. Ordered a weighted blanket and he’s not complained since. It’s been marvellous for him! Except he’s such a wiggler that it’s slipped off some nights and we’ve had to go in and straighten it up, but then once we’ve done that he’s straight back off to sleep.

My DD’s is from Gravity Blankets. When we bought it, they had a returns policy whereby you could return the blanket if you tried it for a period of time and it didn’t help - which was reassuring. It’s brilliant for DD who struggles with anxiety, and I would highly recommend.

@Jackparlabane DD doesn’t need a duvet with hers - it’s all she sleeps under in winter, tho our house stays quite warm at night. Hers is in a single bed size.

I got one last summer, and it's great, I love that feeling as it drapes around me and I feel relaxed and sleep better than I did. For me it's warm enough, and I only had an extra blanket over the top on the coldest nights.