Here's What A Professional Sleep Doctor Wants You To Know About The Weighted Blanket Trend That's Still All Over TikTok And Instagram

I'm prone to taking forever to fall asleep then waking up constantly at night. So in an attempt to help myself out, I bought a cooling weighted blanket earlier this summer — then consulted with a sleep doctor.

Hi! I'm Rhianna. I'm a writer and marketer living in England who is forever in search of a better night's sleep. I'm prone to taking forever to fall asleep, then waking up constantly in the night.

Rhianna Campbell

Throw summer into the mix and I wake up boiling, take the blanket off, then wake up yet again freezing. It is a sweaty, sleepless hellscape of a season for me.

So in an attempt to help myself out, I purchased a cooling weighted blanket — after seeing tons of hype about weighted blankets on Instagram and TikTok for ages.

tiktok.com

But, as with anything shoved at me by social media, my excitement had an undercurrent of skepticism. Obviously not enough to stop me from buying a blanket, because I went ahead and bought two. (No, I'm not easily influenced, why do you ask??)

Rhianna Campbell

I dumped them on the nearest surface I could after I hauled them into the house, then came back to discover my dog had accessorized them with a soft toy. Thanks, bud.

Here's a little close-up of the blanket on my bed, so you can see the stitched pockets it has. Inside each square, there's a bunch of glass beads that give the blanket its weight and supposed cooling properties. They move around so the blanket can settle around you nicely.

Rhianna Campbell

Also pictured is my silk pillowcase, which I bought because they are also supposed to be cooling. One day you're young and cool, and the next day you're spending half your paycheck pimping up your bed...  

Now I'm just a girl being influenced by TikTok, so I reached out to Michael Breus, aka the sleep doctor, to see what he had to say about the weighted blanket trend. Is it all a marketing ploy or is it actually worth throwing your cash at?

The Sleep Doctor / Via youtu.be

A clinical psychologist with more than two decades of experience in his field, Breus is a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 

He's been in private practice as a sleep doctor for nearly 25 years, so he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to catching zzzs.

First off, let's get right to it. Social media recommends a ton of stuff that's not great for your health — you only have to scroll for a second to find an influencer marketing a dodgy diet tea or to stumble on someone eating a Tide pod. So my first question to Breus was if weighted blankets are more than just a fad.

"I find [weighted blankets] to be particularly useful in my patients who have significant anxiety surrounding falling or staying asleep," Breus told BuzzFeed. "However, they tend to sleep quite hot so that might not work in some environments."

Katelin Kinney / Getty Images

I asked Breus about blankets saying they're cooling versus ones that say that they trap the heat. How do these blankets work, and is there an optimal sleeping temperature we should aim for? He explained that cooling blankets are usually ones that have a solid weave fabric — while others use a knit or more of a cable weave where there are open-air pockets in the fabric to allow heat to escape throughout the night.

The Sleep Doctor / Via youtu.be

I guess there's only so much you can do to make an extra layer cool you down as opposed to warming you up. The cooling aspect of my blanket doesn't really seem to be there in summer, but I did notice the blanket was noticeably cool to the touch when the weather was cooler. 

No matter what blanket you end up with, Breus also highlighted what he believes to be the ideal sleeping temperature: "The best sleep temperature is 65–70 degrees in the room. The goal is that we still need the body to be able to have a core body temperature drop so that melatonin can be released. Remember: that's the key that starts the engine for sleep."

So, from my experience and Breus' expertise, it does seem like weighted blankets can be beneficial for a good night's sleep. But what exactly does the weighted blanket do to promote better sleep?

Marta Bonarek / Getty Images

Breus explained that the evenly distributed weight added to a blanket causes “deep pressure stimulation", which is the gentle, firm pressure that can also come from a massage or other physical contact. 

Deep pressure stimulation lowers arousal and makes you feel more relaxed. As research shows, deep pressure stimulation decreases the activity of the body’s sympathetic nervous system — that’s the system that promotes alertness and vigilance and responds to stressful stimuli. It’s the “fight or flight” division of the nervous system. 

At the same time, deep pressure stimulation increases activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is sometimes called the “rest and digest” system. When it’s activated, it lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and increases relaxation and feelings of calm. 

Breus' website, TheSleepDoctor.com, has some more information about the science behind weighted blankets, but the bottom line is that weighted blankets promote the sleep part of the nervous system and lower the activating part so it's easier to drift off to sleep and actually stay asleep through the night.

There are a ton of weighted blankets on the market — but I bought this one from Kuddly that's marketed as a cooling one. While it seems like weighted blankets as a whole get a nod of approval from The Sleep Doc, the cooling aspect might be more of a sales tactic, which I kinda suspected. But as summer heats up, I was also willing to gamble cash on something that promised a cool and comfortable night's sleep.

kudd.ly

After sleeping under it for a while now, I can say it was perfect for mild spring nights — I stayed at the right temperature all night, it was really cozy, and I didn't wake up too warm. But the second the weather got hotter, the blanket was far too hot to sleep under. By the time summer hit, it was pretty clear to me that the cooling aspect is a gimmick for increasing sales. 

The word "weighted" can sound a little scary, and I know that when my box of two blankets arrived and I tried to haul that heavy box in, I was a little worried I'd feel crushed into the bed or trapped during the night.

Izzetugutmen / Getty Images/iStockphoto

I asked Breus if there is an ideal weight per person for a weighted blanket, and he told me that the data suggests about 10% of a person's total body weight — but he disagrees.

He said: "If you are a 250-pound person and I throw a 25-pound blanket on you, it's going to be uncomfortable and hot. I ask all my patients to start with 12 pounds and see how they feel."

So start small, see how you feel, and work your way up to 10% of your body weight if you want to. It's also worth noting that weighted blankets aren’t appropriate for infants and toddlers since they could put the child at risk of suffocating or becoming trapped. During the first year of a child’s life, bedding can also increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, some weighted blankets are designed for older children.

Individuals with chronic respiratory or circulatory conditions, asthma, low blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, claustrophobia, and other medical conditions should also consult their doctors before using weighted blankets.

In a nutshell, anyone using a weighted blanket should have the strength and coordination to remove the blanket themselves if necessary. This means that those who are frail or have limited mobility should also not use weighted blankets. And keep them away from small animals too!

Lastly, with all pros and cons considered, I wanted to know whether Breus would recommend weighted blankets overall. He said: "100%! I have some insomnia patients that are highly anxious and they work quite well for them."

For my part, I'll say that while my blanket is definitely on the lighter side at just 4.7 kilograms (or about 10 pounds), it is waaay heavier than a normal blanket so I definitely noticed the difference. It's deceptively cozy for what looks like a pretty nondescript blanket, though it did take me a little getting used to when it came to pulling it over me.

kudd.ly

(Maybe I'll do some quick bedtime blanket pull reps — increase my strength and wear myself out before sleep. Sounds like a win-win!)

I'm not sure if I've fallen asleep any quicker, but I do think I've woken up less through the night, so I'm feeling more well-rested overall. I seem to wake up less groggy and feel less begrudging of my alarm chiming away!

My only real criticism is that the "cooling" aspect hasn't really been something I've noticed. It is cool to the touch initially, but it's still far too hot for the summer months. That said, it's an added layer and a heavy one at that, so I'm not really surprised it didn't help with cooling me down on hot summer nights.

Sky Atlantic / Via giphy.com

So overall for me and the doc, it's a yes to weighted blankets! It seems like weighted blankets are more than just a social media trend — but if you're gonna take the plunge and buy one, I'd say get one for their potential sleep quality and anxiety-reducing benefits, as opposed to any additional marketing promises like cooling.

Just start light, prepare yourself for a heavy package in the mail, and don't fall for marketing that promises cooling effects.  

Have you used a weighted blanket — or something else to help with better sleep? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!