Weighted Blankets – What Are They and What Is Their Purpose?

Winter is already here, and every time the temperature drops below zero, we re-consider our best-friend priorities. Just like when the AC was our best friend during the summer time, the same thing goes for blankets now. Nothing makes you feel warmer and cozier than a fluffy blanket that gets you to sleep twice as fast than usual. Besides, we all have one that’s our favorite.

As each year goes by, we always tend to see new and improved things on the market. Nobody really expected it, but today we have new and improved version of blankets. Yes, you heard me right, improved blankets. They go by the name of “Weighted Blankets”, and there are tons of reasons why you want to use them for this winter. This also happens to be the topic of this article, so why not keep this introduction as short as possible and jump straight into the content, shall we?

What are the common issues with regular blankets?

In order to understand why the weighted version of these things is a lot better, we need to take a look at some of the flaws that the regular ones have.

source:blogs.iu.edu

We’ve all experienced this at least once in our lives before, and it isn’t really comfortable at all. During the night, you tend to push away your regular blanket to the side, and spend a couple of hours sleeping without any cover on your body, during a chilly winter night. When you finally wake up, you realize that you were freezing for a long time, and then you suddenly see that you’ve pushed the cover somewhere away from your bed.

This can many times result in a sore throat or even a cold in the next couple of days, which is the obvious consequence of freezing during the chilly winter night. In order to avoid this from happening, people switch over to using weighted blankets instead.

The benefits don’t stop here however.

What are the main benefits of weighted blankets?

A lot of other reasons make these products the best-seller on the current market, so let’s take a look at them as well.

Believe it or not, these things were mainly made for people who suffer from anxiety and mild insomnia. If you happen to be one of those people, here’s how these products can help you.

source:forbes.com

Most weighted blankets are filled with specially designed objects that allow you to experience the feeling of constantly being “hugged” while you’re getting to sleep. Some of these objects are usually beads, pellets or discs that are specially designed to provide a feeling of comfort. It might sound pointless to a person who has no issues going to sleep, but for someone with the previously mentioned conditions, it makes a lot of difference.

The entire point of these things is to provide even pressure on your body while you’re trying to get to sleep, but not too much so that you won’t feel like being under tension. This makes a lot of difference, and we can tell for sure that it really helps when it comes to sleeping, but the feeling itself is pretty unexplainable unless you try it for yourself. You can visit www.ynmhome.com if you are interested in learning more.

These types of blankets come in many different shapes, sizes, weights and materials, so you are free to choose the one that is the most familiar to your previous regular cover.

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These products can help anyone, but the ones who have trouble going to sleep will probably feel the biggest difference between using them and regular blankets. As we all know already, our brains have a pretty weird way of functioning, so it’s okay if you can’t quite understand why the feeling of “safety” is so important to many people when it comes to sleeping.

According to a few studies that were done on weighted blankets and overall sleep quality, people that are uncertain in themselves and suffer from low self-esteem are usually feeling a lot better after using these for at least a few weeks. It’s strange but very true. Others that suffer from anxiety have also reported that the symptoms are drastically reduced due to the better sleep conditions.

What is the best way to choose one for me?

Okay, we gave you a slight introduction to some of the most important benefits that you can reap by using weighted blankets, so let’s take a look at some of the best ways to choose one for yourself.

source:cnet.com

It is recommended that you choose a weighted blanket that is about eight to ten percent of your body weight. If you are about 150 pounds in weight, which is a pretty average number, 12 to 15 pound blanket would probably fit you the best. You will constantly feel the gentle pressure but it won’t be much so that you can’t go to sleep because of it. And what’s even better is that you won’t be able to push it to the side as easily during the night, so no more “naked” freezing and waking up with a sore throat or a cold. Also, according to the people who design these products, if you happen to be between two categories, it is advisable that you choose the heavier one.

Now, we covered everything that you need to know about the weight aspect, but what happens when you need to choose the material? Well, it is important to know that these products come in many different shapes, sizes and types of fabric. There aren’t any particular rules when it comes to choosing the fabric, so make sure to get the one that feels best on your skin and overall when you touch it.

A blanket shouldn’t be causing any irritation while you’re sleeping. It’s an item that needs to provide maximum comfort. For weighted blankets, you can also choose the ones which contain the filling that also feels the best for you. If you like the touch of cotton and the way it rumbles when you’re using the blanket, feel free to go for it. If you want a more “intense” experience, go for the ones with beads.