Do Weighted Blankets Really Do Anything?

If you’ve used a weighted blanket before, you might have felt how weirdly comforting it is, but can it actually help your mental health?

Hosted by: Hank Green
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[mikerphone.]

My blankets are weighted down with the soaked up tears i shed when i cry myself to sleep evey night.

[jeremyohrt]

It just holds you down and your body goes, "okay I guess this is what's happening so I won't even anticipate moving so I'll just relax since this is my life now."

[holdmybeer]

i like when they put the lead aprons on me in the dentist office for x-ray.

[mlr]

That's why one has multiple cats, evenly spaced....

[aspentree]

Weighted blankets calmed me down before I even knew what a weighted blanket was

[danielemmanuel]

"Different people are different"
- Hank Green

[TomBortels]

The problem with the placebo theory is that I find the lead apron used at the dentist for an X-Ray to be *very* comforting - and there was no expectation there that it should be - indeed, just the opposite, the dentist is a very stressful environment.

[NewMessage]

They certainly keep me from waking up on the ceiling.

[blixembot]

human: hmm, blanket comfy...
Funny Science Man: BUT IS IT REALLY THOUGH

[rolllikeabuffalo]

Mild/Moderate anxiety sufferer here and the blankets are a GODSEND for me personally. I've always had an issue with sleeping alone and I tried fixing that by surrounding myself with pillows and blankets to make me feel snug but a weighted blanket just does the job so much better.

[funnyteacherman]

Autistic weighing in. I don't have a weighted blanket (they're over $100) but I literally cannot sleep without a comforter on, even in the middle of summer. For me, at least, the weight helps distract me from the feeling of falling asleep, which makes me super anxious. I know a lot of other autistic people who use weighted blankets and comforters for anxiety, for better sleep quality, and because they just like the way they feel. I know other folks who hate them and get more anxious around them. As you said, different people are different.

[musclehank]

Oh yeah I sleep with a 38, 000, 000 pound blanket so when I toss and turn in my sleep it's still a workout

[cloudstrife]

I do tend to relax more when my legs are weighted down while in bed. For instance, if my wife puts a pile of clean laundry on the bed, and I put my legs under it, it just feels good on my legs and I'm more relaxed. I'm not sure how it works, but it works!

[AstralCryptid]

I have upper back pain and I accidentally found that having a friend lie on top of me relieved it when they saw me snoozing and they wanted me to wake up, so they just kind of glomped me. I was like "no, stay there that feels nice."

I did the same thing for them, and it helped them too. We're both severely touch-starved singles and we cuddled a lot during an extended visit an it relieved a lot of stress.

A lot of animals sleep in piles. Maybe a lot of us don't cuddle as much as humanity used to.

[Andok]

I discovered this accidentally. I decided that I'd learn to crochet, and for my first project, I decided to make an Afghan for my king-sized bed. (dream big, right?) To make it even more of a test, I decided to do it double skeined, using two skeins of yarn at the same time, with a triple crochet stitch.

The resulting blanket was ridiculously heavy, but, since I'd made it, I had to put it on the bed. Sleeping under it was so much nicer and more comfortable than any other blankets I'd ever used.

[aseth]

Is there any research on whether people sleep better when 'curled up' with someone? Like children with mothers? This just feels like having a human pillow kind of experience making sleeping easier.

[shearerslegs]

I’m Autistic with an anxiety disorder and depression and to be honest I don’t care if I feel better because of a placebo effect because my blanket makes my life easier. I started out with a lap pad and shoulder wrap though to see if I found weight calming because my blanket was very expensive, although it does have a lifetime guarantee.

[MatthewSchellGaming]

This came out like a month after I bought a weighted blanket. Not sure if it's really helping me sleep, hence why I am up at 2 am watching this.

[cullenrooney]

as someone who has anxiety and insomnia using a weighted blanket has really helped me sleep since i purchased it

[SomeOnlinePerson]

When I was young, before weighted blankets were a thing, I remember finding comfort in a kinda heavy down comforter that was laid out to feel like it was holding me down against the bed. Maybe looking into things like that, before the belief was there, would help against the placebo thing. Or maybe a sleep study where some get a weighted blanket added as they sleep and others don't.