How Heavy Should My Weighted Blanket Be?
What is a Weighted Blanket?
Weighted Blankets have proven to help with sleep deprivation and insomnia to improve your sleep quality. Using a weighted blanket during your sleep after a long and stressful day will relax your body, ensuring a good night’s sleep.
It hugs your body while you sleep, releasing a kind of ‘happiness hormone’, called oxytocin, to make you feel good, thus reducing your stress hormone cortisol. This leads to an improved sleep quality and an overall better sleep. When your sleep quality is improved and your body experiences a better sleep, you will feel more rested, energised and recharged, ready perform better the next day!
How heavy should my weighted blanket be?
If you’ve heard of the benefits of using a weighted blanket and are interested to try using one, the first thing you should know is how to choose the right weight for your weighted blanket. Especially if this weighted blanket is for an elderly or children, you should get the appropriate weight for your weighted blanket.
Generally, your weighted blanket should be 10% of your body weight. This means that if you’re using the weighted blanket for yourself, and you weigh 73kg, your blanket should be about 7kg. If the weighted blanket is for your child, and your child weighs 31kg, their weighted blanket should be about 3kg.
Weighted Blankets for Children
Weighted blankets are designed to distribute the feeling of a deep-pressure touch evenly across the body, which can help children who may have difficulty sleeping. Some kids don’t process information from their senses as well as others, so they seek it out or avoid it more. A lot of children have unique sensory needs, and may respond well to a weighted blanket, and have no diagnosis. But, kids with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) have definite sensory needs, which is why weighted blankets are often recommended for kids with these diagnoses.
The key to choosing a suitable weighted blanket for your child is to go slightly below the 10% rule. For example, if you child’s weight is 25kg, you may opt for a 2kg weighted blanket. Just so that he/she will not feel overwhelmed by the weighted blanket, and for them to get used to it.
Weighted Blankets for The Elderly
According to the Harvard Medical School, the elderly needs to take afternoon naps to offset the effects of sleep deprivation during the night. A short nap of about 20 to 30 minutes can be good way to boost alertness and focus. However, it is recommended that a full night’s rest is more beneficial to the elderly as they do not interfere with their natural sleep cycles. A weighted blanket is also a natural aid in the nighttime for better sleep and during the day to help with naps to regain rest and restore calmness for elderlies.
The use of weighted blankets for the elderly is also associated with relatively low risk and is typically a cheaper option compared to other forms of treatments for sleep deprivation. Also known as deep-touch therapy, the use of weighted blankets provides them with a sensation similar to the feeling of being wrapped in a blanket or a hug. This deep pressure can be used to promote a sense of security and relaxation which helps with their overall sleep quality.