20 Weighted Blanket Benefits: All The Ways A Napper Can Help You Feel & Sleep Better
From better sleep and less stress to easing anxiety and lifting your spirits, here’s our pick of the top 20 weighted blanket benefits Bearaby Nappers bring.
Bearassentials
Whether you’re dealing with a health condition or just looking to boost your wellbeing, a weighted blanket can bring the benefit of genuinely restorative rest.
Weighted blankets help people cope with a range of mental and physical health conditions, including insomnia, anxiety, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, autism, ADHD, RLS, PTSD, and OCD.
But the benefits of a Bearaby blanket don’t stop there – our weighted blankets bring the unique advantage of keeping you comfortably cool while causing no harm to the environment. Not to mention they look just as good as they feel!
Did you know?
Besides making us irritable and cranky, sleep deprivation significantly reduces our ability to tolerate pain. If you’re living with a chronic pain condition, make sure to prioritize getting enough restorative rest. Struggling to sleep? Try a Napper to help soothe your sleep and pain problems.
Do weighted blankets really work? Research studies show that sleeping with a weighted blanket reduces anxiety and stress while improving sleep. But that isn’t where a heavy blanket’s benefits always stop – Bearaby weighted blankets bring a whole range of advantages!
We’ve summed up twenty ways a weighted blanket benefits you. Some of these are straightforward, science-backed health benefits, while other advantages of our weighted blankets may surprise you.
Let’s count the ways our signature weighted blanket, the Napper, works its magic.
Brings better sleep
Are you tossing and turning for what feels like forever before you finally fall asleep? Bedtime rolls around, and you’re simply not sleepy? Feel like your body clock is out of sync? One of the top weighted blanket benefits for adults and kids is that it brings better sleep.
Sleeping under weight prompts the principles of deep touch pressure (DTP). The full-body DTP of a weighted blanket results in a more relaxed mind and body that drifts off to sleep in no time and stays asleep for longer – bringing the ultimate health benefit of restorative rest.
Cues calmness
Weighted blankets can help you feel calmer. Studies show that sleeping under weight lowers cortisol. Cortisol is our “stress hormone,” also known as the “fight or flight” hormone, and crucial to our survival instincts.
It’s normal and necessary that cortisol spikes in stressful situations, but chronically high cortisol levels can harm your health. Natural solutions to keeping cortisol in check, like using a weighted blanket, can help you feel less stressed and bring a sense of inner calm.
Alleviates feelings of anxiety
A study on the therapeutic effects of using a weighted blanket found that 63% of people found weighted blanket use made them feel less anxious.
Why do weighted blankets help with anxiety? Research shows us DTP, the pure science underpinning how weighted blankets work, reduces anxiety in two ways:
- It increases the body’s production of the “happy” hormone, serotonin. This uptick in serotonin leaves us feeling less anxious and more relaxed.
- It taps into the part of our nervous system responsible for breathing and heart rate and helps regulate these processes. Slowed breathing and steadied heart rate helps reign in feelings of anxiety.
Lulls insomnia
Some people battle sleep periodically while others suffer chronic sleep disturbances. Weighted blanket benefits can go beyond improving your sleep quality to aiding in the treatment of insomnia, helping people with this exhausting condition fall asleep easier and sleep deeper.
The recommended weight for a weighted blanket is 10% of your body weight, but studies show it’s safe for adults to go a little higher. If you’re battling severe insomnia, we recommend opting for a heavier than usual weighted blanket. Our 25 lb weighted blanket is our heaviest option and can help people with chronic sleep troubles.
But always keep in mind that comfort comes first! If you don’t feel comfortable under the 25 lb, try our 15/20 lbs
Helps relieve pain
People often ask if a weighted blanket can help you find pain relief. Many who’ve tried sleeping under weight find it makes persistent pain more manageable and helps improve their overall wellbeing.
People with chronic pain often struggle to sleep and tend to have elevated cortisol levels. A weighted blanket presents a natural solution to help remedy these problems.
Fights side-effects of fibromyalgia
Weighted blankets can help ease insomnia and chronic pain – two symptoms pertinent among people fighting against fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a multifaceted syndrome that affects nearly 10 million Americans. Some of the latest research concluded that integrating medicinal and natural treatments is the best way to help fibro patients. Weighted blankets are an easy-to-use tool that can benefit people living with this complex illness.
Brings the health benefits of hugging
Research shows that hugging brings real health benefits. So whether you’re a hugger or not, it seems your health could benefit from getting a daily dose of affection!
The social distancing protocols in place are indisputably necessary to curb the current health pandemic but are bearing unique consequences on mental health. Beyond helping you cope with anxiety in these uncertain times, weighted blanket health benefits also extend to how these blankets mimic the effects of a warm hug.
Helps autistic people rest easier
Bringing the science behind how weighted blankets work into mainstream use is mostly credited to Dr. Temple Grandin, who herself was autistic. Her research brought forward many of the benefits and applications of DTP (deep touch pressure) that are now known.
Getting good quality sleep, and struggling to settle down are challenges autistic people often face. The weighted blankets available on the market today are an innovative result of popularizing the blankets used as a therapeutic tool to help autistic people during the 1990s. Weighted blankets continue to benefit those with autism in assisting them to sleep and settle down with ease.
Strengthens attention span
Studies have demonstrated that a weighted blanket can help reign in hyperactivity, increasing attention span in kids (and adults) who struggle to focus or have ADHD.
Sleeping under weight brings about more restorative rest, and a well-rested mind stays on-task with greater ease. A weighted blanket can also help you stay focused (and cozy!) while doing homework or studying – simply drape it over your lap or shoulders.
Helps treat sensory overload
Sensory overload is becoming distressingly common in our modern society. Over-stimulation from devices and our day-to-day environment leave people’s minds overwhelmed and fatigued. The calming effect of cocooning under a weighted blanket can help your brain and body slow down and refresh.
Depending on your individual sensory needs, you can also add other soothing textures to your cocoon of calm in the form of a thin throw. You might gravitate towards something silky and cooling such as a TENCEL™ sheet or something buttery-soft and breathable such as a muslin blanket.
Thin muslin throw blankets like our Muslin Cocoon are commonly used as swaddle blankets for babies, and they can be useful as a sensory tool for people of all ages — whether you choose to pair them with a weighted blanket or wrap up with them separately.
Better mood
A super side-effect of sleeping under weight is that it boosts your body’s serotonin (our “happiness” hormone) production. The increased serotonin from using a weighted blanket at night can add a little more joy to your day. (And keep the harmful effects of not getting enough sleep at bay.)
Helps soothe symptoms of OCD
The way weighted blankets can supercharge serotonin could be beneficial to people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is sometimes linked to low serotonin levels, and sleeping under weight can act as an all-natural serotonin supplement to those battling obsessive or compulsive behaviors.
Eases symptoms of RLS
Restless leg syndrome affects many people. There’s still a lot we don’t know about this illness, but weighted blankets have proved helpful in bringing better sleep to those experiencing the chronic, uncontrollable urge to move their limbs.
Helps fight PTSD-related sleep battles
It’s not uncommon for people battling PTSD to experience hyper-vigilance as bedtime rolls around. This mental health condition also comes with the anxiety and trauma of recurring nightmares. People who have PTSD have found that weighted blankets help fight back against these sleep-related issues.
Supports the unique sleep needs of the elderly
Did you know that we sleep lighter as we age? Often a combination of physical and stress factors, older people can find it challenging to get quality sleep. A weighted blanket (that’s the appropriate weight) can help seniors sleep better – adding a greater sense of wellbeing to their daily life.
Helps pets relax
Can I use my weighted blanket with my pet? Of course! Over on our blog, we talk more about how weighted blankets can help stressed-out pets relax. Just remember always to keep a close eye on your furry friend, especially cats and small-sized dogs, while they’re snoozing under weight.
If your four-legged friend needs some long-term soothing comfort, our Pupper Pod dog bed might be a good option. It’s made of the same Melofoam™ as our Hugget knot pillows and Cuddler body pillow, and it molds to your dog’s body to support their joints.
Keeps you cool – no more sweaty sleep!
So, are weighted blankets hot? One of the top benefits of our weighted Nappers is that they’re naturally cooling.
Weighted blankets are typically made heavy by filling a synthetic material with plastic pellets or glass beads, but this weight comes with way too much heat. Our cooling weighted blankets contain no fillers whatsoever. Instead, we lavishly layer natural fabrics like cotton or TENCEL™ (a tree-fabric known for being moisture-wicking) to create a weighted yarn. The yarn is then lovingly hand-knit into a chunky, open-loop weaved design maximizing airflow.
The cooling capabilities of our Nappers makes all the difference in sleeping warm and cozy as opposed to hot and sweaty. It seems our ultra-cool Napper also impressed sleep experts.
Bearaby weighted blankets hug the planet
Another benefit of our Bearaby weighted blanket is that it comes with the peace of mind that the planet doesn’t suffer the consequences of your comfort. We make our Nappers of sustainably sourced, Earth-loving fabrics (that are biodegradable) in a closed-loop process. We also tool a stringent plastic-free packaging policy.
Tailored to different needs and tastes
A further benefit of our weighted blankets is that there’s a Napper for everyone!
- Our signature weighted blankets come in two different varieties: the Cotton Napper, a knitted weighted blanket made of 100% cotton, and the Tree Napper – a cooling weighted blanket made from natural, breathable TENCEL™ fabric.
- Both Nappers are available in 15, 20, or 25 lbs weights and come with a choice of five color options each.
- The Nappling is our super-cute weighted blanket for kids and also made of 100% cotton.
- It weighs roughly 8 lbs, and of the four available color options, our favorite is Confetti.
The Napper is beneficial and beautiful
Our Nappers bring all the health benefits of weighted blankets – in style. We took cool, comfy, and cozy and hand-knitted it all together to make a blanket that’s beneficial and beautiful.
