Hello, it’s Street’s resident sleepyhead reporting! When sleep aids failed me, I desperately searched the web far and wide for my next remedy. That’s when I stumbled across a video of Tiffany Haddish saying how she’d filled a void in her life with a weighted blanket — that void being personal relationships. Apparently, her 25–pound weighted blanket made her feel like a man was holding and cozying up with her. I was uninterested in that effect of weighted blankets, but that video prompted a deeply–buried memory of weighted blankets to resurface.
Months earlier, I had watched another video of a celebrity praising the effects of weighted blankets. This time, it was Kendall Jenner and she explained how her specific weighted blanket, a gravity blanket, was helping her with anxiety and how it felt like someone was hugging her. As someone who deals with lots of stress and anxiety, I’m always down for bear hugs and anxiety–reducing items, so I spiraled down the endless tunnel of investigation. What exactly are weighted blankets?
Weighted blankets, usually ranging from 4 to 25 pounds, are filled with plastic pellets or steel beads. Just like how toddlers seek comfort and security through their blankies, adults can regain this sense through weighted blankets. In fact, blankets have long been used in sensory integration therapy, which helps people focus on sensory experiences and ultimately boost their ability to regulate emotions. Weighted blankets provide “deep–touch pressure,” which stimulates the release of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that make people feel more at ease. Moreover, Raj Dasgupta, MD, a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, says that although it is not the universal cure for sleeping problems, a weighted blanket may be “a good alternative,” and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.
After informing myself, I started my long journey of finding the right blanket. I wanted to start off light—15 pounds was more than enough. I also wanted the blanket to be around the same size as the blanket I had already been using. Amazon came to the rescue when I landed on the perfect blanket: Dr. Hart’s Weighted Blanket Deluxe Set.
With 4.7 out of 5 stars from over 200 reviews, this blanket deems itself as the “only weighted blanket developed by a practicing medical doctor,” who has spent a “lifetime...treating patients with serious sleep disorders.” This specific blanket uses quartz microspheres, which are eco–friendly, eliminates the noise of beads shifting, remains cool in the summer, and builds breathable heat in the winter.
My hopes were shot down when sleep aids had no effect on me, so I had no expectations for the blanket. It turned out to be smaller than expected, but at first touch, I knew I was in love. I felt like I was capsized by twenty dozen silky–furred golden retriever puppies! I’ve been using this blanket for the past week, and my oh my, it has revolutionized the way I sleep. While I always had to furiously tuck myself in with my old light–as–a–feather blanket, this new one snugly contoured to my body. It felt like the blanket not only weighed down my body, it weighed down the random and sometimes self–deprecating thoughts that usually race through my mind when trying to sleep.
More than that, I haven’t gone a night without sleep since using the blanket. While I would normally toss and turn for around two hours, using the blanket would reduce the time by half an hour or a whole hour. That might not sound like a huge difference, but to me, it is gosh–darn remarkable. It means that, by the end of a week, I can have an extra seven hours of sleep, or a whole night’s worth of sleep! Also, I never had to wake up with the urgency to pee as I did with sleeping aids. In fact, I could sleep persistently even with a full bladder—what kind of sorcery is this?
This blanket is worth every single penny—it has won a place in my heart. My sleeping problems haven’t disappeared altogether, but this new addition to my sleep routine has given me hope that I can someday conquer them.
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