Maybe you've heard of a weighted blanket and got curious what's the fuss is all about. You get testimonies from your friends and relatives telling you how a weighted blanket helped them with their sleep, stress, anxieties, etc. But you still wonder what a weighted blanket purpose? How it works and how does it affect you positively? Well, you're on the right page.
What is it Exactly?
Well, the name explains itself, it's like a blanket but comes with extra weight. It has fillings inside like poly pellets, micro glass beads, rice, or even dried beans that put the extra pound. It keeps you warm at night and gives you the feeling of an embrace while you sleep. You can use it while sleeping while lying on the couch while you watch tv, while your kids play, or while on vacation.
How heavy a weighted blanket should depend on the one who will use it. The weight of the blanket should be 10% of the user's weight plus an extra one or two pounds. Heavier than the suggested weight may cause harmful effects on the person using it. For its size, it depends on
the height of the user or the area of their bed. Having the right amount of weight and length means that the weighted blanket can do its purpose which you'll learn as you continue to read.
Does Science Support Its Claims?
Yes, the science behind it is called "Deep Touch Pressure Therapy." A weighted blanket gives a gentle pressure to a person and stimulates the production of a synthetic hormone called serotonin. Now, what is serotonin? Serotonin is called a "happy hormone" because it regulates your mood or sleep and also contributes to proper digestion.
If within the average level, this hormone will contribute positively to your overall feeling thus making you happier, calmer, and focused. There are also studies that state that a weighted blanket can also help stimulate the increase in levels of oxytocin and melatonin.
Now that you know it's scientific evidence, we will tackle its purpose one by one so that you'll understand it better. Here are Eight things of what a Weighted Blanket Purpose is:
Promotes Better Sleep Quality
You just got home from a tiring day at work, and you just wish to have a decent sleep. A weighted blanket stimulates the production of serotonin as well as melatonin which is both responsible for regulating your sleeping cycles. So with a weighted blanket, you'll have a good night's sleep.
Results in studies stated that individuals who use weighted blankets feel more refreshed when they wake up in the morning. They feel at ease while sleeping because of the deep touch pressure and warmth.
A weighted blanket purpose is to help people who struggle with insomnia or anxiety. Quality weighted blankets prevent them from getting shorter sleeping time because of frequent movement while sleeping causing them to feel agitated and eventually wake up and unable to continue their sleep. People with insomnia also feel drained even if they were able to sleep eight hours.
Mimics A Warm Hug
Who doesn't like hugs, right? A weighted blanket feels like a warm embrace. In fact, research has shown that when an individual hugs a person, it makes them feel at ease and the body releases a hormone called oxytocin, which helps to reduce blood pressure and provides a feeling and give your body a sense of calmness. Using a weighted blanket is like getting a warm hug from a person.
Read this: How To Wash A Weighted Blanket
Applicable For The Elderly
If you have an elderly in the family, you may notice that they sometimes have a hard time sleeping longer or unable to fall asleep. It is because as we get old, the chance of getting insomnia increases. When an elder has shorter sleep cycles or lacks hours of sleep, it can lead to several health problems.
A weighted blanket can help them have a better sleep at night and also get more extended hours of sleep. The purpose of the weighted blanket is to keep the elderly from getting depression, anxiety, and stress because of lack of sleep or health problems.
Helps People With Disorders
Weighted blankets were generally invented for individuals with disorders like ADHD, OCD, sensory processing disorder, etc. Learn what is the purpose of a weighted blanket for each disorder:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, it is a neurobehavioral disorder which makes an individual have trouble with a social interacting, slower understanding of speech and language, or unable to communicate appropriately. They can get stressed when they get to interact with society.
A weighted blankets autism helps people with ASD to decrease their cortisol levels which induce the stress hormone and in turn increase their serotonin levels so they'll be able to cope up with their disorder. Learning how to speak or how to communicate will be easier if they have a deep touch pressure therapy from a weighted blanket.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder lacks the ability to focus on certain things. Kids and adults who have this disorder have a hard time completing an activity, unable to multitask, and can get impulsive. So a weighted blankets kids can help perfectly in these situations because it gives a person a sensation that will provide a calming effect to reduce their anxieties.
Kids that are unable to focus on a task at their classroom can have their own inexpensive weighted blankets or a wearable one so that they'll be able to learn. Special Education Classrooms even provide weighted lap pads to help their students with ADHD to focus.
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder
Individuals with Obsessive-compulsive Disorder has different symptoms, and it differs for each person. Symptoms can be fear of getting dirty because of the germs that come with it, fear of losing your belongings or losing control, having unreasonable thoughts, etc. Studies show that having OCD can be linked to having low levels of serotonin so this is where a weighted blanket serves its purpose. With a weighted blanket, people with OCD can handle their symptoms better and be able to control their thinking.
Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory Processing Disorder is a condition wherein a person's brain is unable to respond to the information it receives through its senses. It happens in both cases, and they can be over-responsive or under-responsive to certain things or instances. For example, kids with SPD can have a meltdown when they hear a silverware falling or hearing a leaf blower can cause them to be scared or vomit.
And in other cases, people with SPD may be unable to feel any pain, heat, or coldness even if within the extremes. With a weighted blanket, they can face these cases with more control of their reactions because they feel calm. Using a weighted blanket can reduce the anxiety that they feel whenever there is a triggering situation.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs to them because of a traumatic event that they have experienced. The reason may be because of witnessing a tragic accident, experiencing a natural disaster, soldiers who experience serious combat during a war, or any physical assault. Their symptoms can be having flashbacks of that event because they remembered something, or they see it in their dreams.
They can get irritable or angry without any reason or being unable to sleep. Insomnia and depression also come with this disorder. With the support of researches, a weighted blanket can help a person with PTSD by making them feel calm by lowering their blood pressure, which then also reduces their pulse rates. Sleeping at night will be easier for them because of using a weighted blanket and prevent dreaming of a traumatic event.
Panic Disorder
A person with panic disorder even without any cause or reason experience extreme fear and anxiety which cause them to feel shortness of breath, feeling dizzy, and if severe, they can lose control. Panic disorders if addressed early can be manageable or later on treatable. They can undergo medication or therapies to overcome it, and a weighted blanket purpose is deep touch pressure therapy.
With a weighted blanket, they'll feel a soothing feeling, so they feel relaxed while they have their panic attacks. They'll have more control of what's about to happen and eventually overcome their fears and anxieties.
A Weighted Blanket Purpose Also Works For Pets
Pets can also get anxious when there are loud noises like an ambulance passing by or when there are fireworks during the new year's celebration. Making them wear clothes sometimes doesn't count as giving them comfort. We all know that dogs sometimes act and feel like a human, so a weighted blanket can also provide them with hugs.
Pets especially dogs and cats absolutely love warm hugs from their owners so that they'll feel safe. To help your dog overcome their fear of loud noises, give them a weighted blanket and make them feel less stressed about it. As a pet owner, you just want tender loving care for them.
It is A Non-Medical Approach
Some people take up medicine to reduce pain or be able to get proper sleep. But there's also some people want a non-medical treatment to their problems. A weighted blanket serves as a non-medical approach to relieve stress, depression, and get some quality sleep. You get to save money on buying medication when you can go to a long term solution. Yes, purchasing a weighted blanket can be expensive but there is also a cheap weighted blanket available in the market but will induce the same deep touch pressure.
Weighted Blanket Purpose is To Ease Restless Leg Syndrome
People with the restless leg syndrome feel a tingling sensation in their legs. An individual with this syndrome usually feels it during the night when they're lying in bed which may cause them to have insomnia. They can also feel it when they're seating in a car for a long drive or when they ride an airplane. It can be uncomfortable when you always feel the urge that you need to move your legs.
To relieve the creepy crawling on their legs, they put on some compression socks or always push their legs on the ground, well the tingling can convert to pain or discomfort. A weighted blanket with its gentle pressure can give you relief from the tinglings that you feel in your legs.
It Helps You To Travel With Ease
When on a long trip, seating for hours in a confined space can get a person really anxious, this may be called travel anxiety. The thought of getting stuck in a small area like a bus or airplane or seeing a lot of people in a single place can get scary for others. They're uncomfortable to leave their house because it's their comfort zone.
The stress of traveling can get to them, and when you force them to come, they feel pressured. With a weighted travel blanket, they can handle more of their travel anxieties. With your support and with the gentle pressure of a weighted blanket they'll be able to overcome their fear of traveling. When they leave and travel with a weighted blanket, they will be more relaxed and comfortable. They can now collect happy memories with their family.
What is The Purpose Of Its Design?
The design of a weighted blanket can be a channel-compartment or box type. In a box type weighted blanket, the fillings are placed in a series of square pockets while in a channel-compartment variety, the fillers are infused in between two fabrics. With channel-compartment, the filling is evenly distributed into the whole blanket. Because the design keeps it from moving in one place, your body will feel the weight the same at all parts.
The wide range of purposes of a weighted blanket brings works for people of different ages, and it is fit for kids, adults, elders, and even your pets. Using a weighted blanket will surely transform your overall mood and sleeping cycles.