Known and used in the medical field for nearly twenty years, the weighted blanket is now enjoying growing success in France and Europe. It is the subject of numerous scientific studies praising its merits.
Reduced stress and anxiety, improved quality of sleep, disappearance of insomnia, improved mood—the benefits of weighted blankets are almost revolutionary.
For a country where more than a third of the population reports suffering from sleep disorders, they offer an all-natural solution to regain a healthy and balanced life.
Focus on the principles and benefits of this extraordinary weighted blanket.
Also read: A Weighted Blanket For Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Let’s go.
Weighted Blankets: Discovery And Principles
What is a weighted blanket?
The weighted blanket, also called a weighted blanket because of its weight, is a soft blanket specially designed for relaxation and well-being.
Customizable as desired, depending on your morphology and your sleeping habits, the weighted blanket is generally made of 100% natural fabric coupled with cutting-edge technology.
It comes in the form of a weighted/heavy duvet at about 10% of your body weight through several small gridded sections.
Filled with micro-beads, these “pockets” spread even pressure over your entire body.
For individual use, the weighted blanket is made to measure, according to your height and weight.
What Is The Basic Principle Of Heavy Coverage?
Comfortable and enveloping, the weighted blanket, once in place, plays the role of a real jewel for your body.
It gives you the most soothing and pleasant embrace, similar to that which a baby can feel carefully swaddled in his nappies.
It is thus based on the principle of bodily stimulation by pressure. Thus secured, the body relaxes, releases positive hormones such as serotonin. Stress and anxiety levels drop drastically to bring an almost euphoric feeling of relaxation.
The weighted blanket, well known to doctors, is a leading therapeutic tool to naturally fight against many disorders, particularly related to sleep, stress, or even anxiety.
>> You might like this article: The Science Of Deep Touch Pressure And The Benefits Of The Weighted Blanket
The Benefits Of The Weighted Blanket On Insomnia And Stress
Weighted blankets, which have received widespread praise from science and the medical community, are excellent for treating a variety of physical and neurological conditions, including:
- Developmental Disorders In Children,
- Degenerative diseases linked to aging (Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, etc.),
- Sleep disorders and the problems of stress and anxiety.
- How do they act?
It Helps Relieve Insomnia And Promote Sleep.
Plagues of this century, sleep disorders affect more than a third of the US population; insomnia, in particular, affects more than 16% of Americans.
However, according to a study carried out by the Institute of Neurology and Physiology of the University of Göteburg, Sweden, the weighted blanket is a valuable tool in the fight against insomnia and preventing the psychological and physical disorders that it can generate.
Indeed, the blanket’s pressure on the body’s various pressure points encourages the release of hormones associated with happiness, such as:
– endorphins,
– dopamine,
– serotonin,
but also the sleep hormone, melatonin.
The feeling of relaxation that follows allows you to fall asleep faster and a much better quality of sleep, free from any insomnia.
Thanks to its action on melatonin levels, the weighted blanket generally guarantees a restful and restorative sleep throughout the night.
This also helps prevent episodes of chronic fatigue or early awakenings.
Also read: A scientific study published in September 2020 shows that weighted blankets play a positive role in insomnia
The Weighted Blanket: An Effective Tool Against Anxiety Disorders.
Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences at one point or another in their life. As long as it remains transient, linked to a particular event, or not very invasive, it is completely benign.
On the other hand, when it continues over time and seems uncontrollable, it can quickly become sickly.
According to estimates, one in five people in the US will experience a severe anxiety disorder such as generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, acute anxiety attacks, etc.
In this context, the weighted blanket is a natural therapeutic tool, complementary to psychological treatment and possible medication.
By promoting, through the pressure exerted, the relaxation of your whole body, it reduces heart rate and blood pressure, to help you regain a feeling of well-being and tranquility
Decreased Stress Levels.
Today, 9 out of 10 Americans say they feel stress on a daily basis. However, just like anxiety, stress problems, whether chronic or not, have particularly harmful consequences on the body.
Ultimately, this can generate more significant mental and/or physical disorders (cardiovascular diseases, immunodeficiency, concentration disorders, memory loss, etc.).
By stimulating the production of serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin in the body, the weighted blanket helps you relax quickly.
But that’s not all. In addition to its action on the hormones of happiness and sleep, the weighted blanket also promotes the reduction of cortisol levels, a hormone linked to stress and depression.
It then provides an immediate comforting and reassuring effect, the effectiveness of which has also been demonstrated in the context of post-traumatic stress.
The Weighted Blanket Helps Reduce Mood Swings.
Mood swings, sadness, stress, anxiety, and depression are closely linked to chemical reactions in your brain, including lower-than-normal serotonin levels.
By stimulating the production of serotonin, melatonin and dopamine, and reducing cortisol levels, the weighted blanket contributes to the hormonal rebalancing of your nervous system, and, more generally, to the improvement of your emotional health.
Stimulation of the cognitive system.
Thanks to its relaxing and restful action, the weighted blanket promotes relaxation, falling asleep, and calming.
So many advantages that contribute to an in-depth rebalancing of the nervous system, and therefore to a general improvement in cognitive performance: greater ease of concentration, memory maintenance, better learning ability.
These beneficial effects are perfect for addressing the impulsiveness and restlessness issues of people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome (ADHD).
The weighted blanket soothes patients with autism.
For all the reasons explained above, various studies conducted on the subject also highlight the role of tactile therapies in stimulating people, children or adults, with autism.
Thus, according to scientists at Harvard University, the weighted blanket is a therapeutic tool particularly suitable for regulating mood, controlling impulses, or even reducing the physical and psychological agitation of patients suffering from autism.
Also read: Autism weighted blanket: a feeling of calm by stimulating the proprioceptive sense
All this is thanks, again, to the roles of serotonin and dopamine.
And you, have you ever tried weighted blankets?
If not, then I encourage you to read our article on the subject: What are the benefits of a weighted blanket?