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Weighted Blankets: What Are The Pros and Cons?

A weighted blanket can help you sleep better, minimize anxiety, and improve your overall well-being. Are there any downsides to sleeping under a Napper? Let’s weigh up the pros and cons.

weighted blanket pros and cons

Bearassentials

Weighted blankets are becoming a go-to solution for many people suffering from sleep and mental health problems. What are the pros and cons of this trend?

Pros: using a weighted blanket offers a drug-free way to help you cope with anxiety, fall asleep easier, sleep deeper, and wake up feeling restored.

Cons: conventional weighted blankets can be too hot to sleep under and aren’t eco-friendly. Keep reading to learn more about our innovative design and what makes our Nappers both breathable and sustainable.

Did you know?
Healthy melatonin levels don’t only help you fall asleep easier but can also improve your eye health and combat seasonal depression.

Have you ever found yourself lying awake at night searching for a way around your anxieties and stress so you can just get some sleep? You're not alone. The CDC reports that one out of every three adults isn’t getting enough rest. There are many reasons for our collective fatigue, including stress, anxiety, and other mental health factors.

Weighted blankets have become a therapeutic option to help people with both sleep and mental wellbeing. Wondering if you should get one? Let's explore the pros and cons of weighted blankets, to help you weigh up (pun intended) your options and make an informed decision.

pros and cons of weighted blankets

Pros Of Using A Weighted Blanket

Let’s uncover some of the pros of using a sustainable weighted blanket.

Weighted Blankets Improve Sleep Quality

Many people report that weighted blankets can reduce night-time tossing and turning as the gentle full-body pressure makes it easier to lie still. The experience can be likened to the feeling of being hugged or swaddled, similar to what help babies sleep. How this hugging sensation results in better sleep has to do with how a weighted blanket helps your body balance serotonin, melatonin, and cortisol levels.

The deep touch pressure that sleeping under weight delivers increases serotonin levels to help you sleep better overall. Serotonin levels are a vital factor in getting good quality sleep, and a good way to combat low serotonin is enhancing our innate ability to make this hormone. One of those ways is using a weighted blanket.

There's also a close relationship between weighted blankets and melatonin (another important sleep-related hormone). Using a weighted blanket can naturally increase levels of melatonin while at the same time decreasing cortisol levels (that tricky stress hormone). This leaves you feeling calmer, makes it easier to get real rest, and wake up feeling restored.

Weighted Blankets Can Help Treat Insomnia

Insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by trouble falling or staying asleep, is prevalent. Weighted blankets can help treat insomnia, and many people who battle this condition experience a significant improvement in their sleep health when regularly using a weighted blanket.

pros and cons of a weighted blanket

Weighted Blankets Minimize Anxiety

In a study of 32 adult volunteers, 63% reported that they experienced lower anxiety after lying under a weighted blanket. One of the reasons for these results is attributed to the full-body pressure weighted blankets provide. This pressure triggers the nervous system responses that can slow down breathing and lower heart rate, helping your body relax, and your mind feel calmer.

Weighted Blankets Can Improve Your Overall Wellbeing

It's no secret that the quality of your sleep impacts your overall health. Over time, poor sleep contributes to serious health consequences, including physical diseases and mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.

Using a weighted blanket as part of your nightly routine offers a drug-free way to get good quality rest and ultimately taking care of your overall physical and mental health.

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Cons Of Using A Weighted Blanket

There are a few cons that can come with sleeping under weight – here’s how we’ve addressed these potential downsides.

Weighted Blankets Can Get Too Hot

Many people tend to be hot sleepers, which means they quickly feel too warm or uncomfortably hot when sleeping under a weighted blanket. While conventional heavy blankets aren’t breathable, our innovative design maximizes airflow and can keep even hot sleepers comfortably cool.

If you’re a hot sleeper, try to look for a cooling weighted blanket with a natural fiber cover that can prevent you from overheating.

Weighted Blankets Aren’t Sustainably Made

The traditional way of filling a polyester blanket with plastic pellets or beads to give it weight doesn’t provide a particularly Earth-friendly manufacturing method. What sets our Nappers apart is that we’ve redesigned the crafting process and use only layers of natural fabric to give our sustainable products their weight. No artificial fillers in sight!

If you’re concerned about the impact your purchase may have on the environment, opt for a weighted blanket free of artificial fillers and made of sustainable materials.

weighted blanket benefits

Weighted Blankets Can Be A Risk For Smaller Kids

Since toddlers aren’t yet strong enough to remove a heavy blanket from their little bodies, weighted blankets aren’t recommended for children under four. For example, if the weighted blanket somehow covers their faces and cannot take it off, it could cause breathing difficulties. It could also cause small children to overheat.

While weighted blankets for toddlers aren't recommended, older children can enjoy the many benefits of our Nappling.

What’s The Gist?

Knowing the pros and cons of weighted blankets can help you make an informed purchase decision. Overall, a weighted blanket is a beneficial, natural self-care solution and a good investment in your health and well-being.

weighted blanket pros and cons