Weighted blanket?

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I had a very difficult time sleeping last night due to some new noise generated by the heater system (not sure why it started now, but it's an awful deep noise that I can't sleep through... despite it being quieter in terms of decibels than the ambient noise in the room... and yes, I have a SPL meter)... so I read up on white noise generators and proceeded to place an order on the spot.

Ok, so I'll be getting a white noise generator in a few days... well, on one of the pages that I read, I saw mention of a weighted blanket, which sounds very interesting to me. Right now, I have more blankets on my bed than is needed for warmth, mostly because I like the added pressure (IMO, it's actually a little hot with how high the thermostat is set at night here...).

Now, there's a BIG difference between several normal blankets and the 20 (!) pound weighted blanket that's recommended for an adult of my size (not to mention expense)... so I thought I'd post about it here and get opinions before pulling the trigger.

1. Do they help to get better sleep?
2. Are they comfortable?

the kids and i have all these type of ball-blankets:

http://www.protac.dk/


and love it.

yup, i've got one of those and it helps me sleep better. They are fairly comfortable, but it gets really hot in the summer so i don't use it then.

I get mine at DreamCatcher -

http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/s ... tcher.html

I asked for one that would give no heat at all and that's what I got - if I want to be warm, I use an ordinary blanket on top. Last summer, I was cool enough using the weighted blanket during heat waves.

It is kind of spectacular what happens - I can be in the middle of a meltdown, I get under the weighted blanket and *instantly* I am restful. Some kind of miracle, I suppose - somebody told me it has something to do with the long muscles.

My blanket weighs 26 lbs and it's perfect. But it's unweildy and hard to clean, so I think I should have ordered for a single bed even though I have a double bed. After all, it only has to cover me.

re cleaning - there's always the dry cleaner. I can't put something that heavy in the washing machine and I don't think I could lift it if I tried to wash it in the tub.

The cleaning method I use is Febreze and vacuum, both sides of blanket. It works!

Good luck -

I made a thread a little while ago about needing a lot of heavy blankets to sleep well. Before then I thought no one else had this issue and I'd never heard of a weighted blanket before! Now it is my goal to get one. I can't imagine anything better than sleeping under one of those.

I read you should get one that is 10% of your body weight.

I need to be covered by a big, heavy comforter (duvet, for you non-Americans) in order to sleep well at all times of the year. In the summer, I've tried using just a sheet and light cover, but end up tossing and turning and waking up frequently at night.

I sleep with three comforters and 2 blankets on my bed so the challenge is keeping the room cool enough to keep from roasting. I would love to try one of these out. Does anyone have any experience in sharing a queen-size bed with a non-aspie while using one of these blankets?

I have a very heavy blanket I sleep with, but it's not a weighted blanket, this is the first time I've heard about them. I have to sleep in a cool room in order to sleep during any season of the year.

I have a dreamcatcher blanket and it has helped me to sleep better and to calm down from sensory overload.

I kind of want one.

I made my own. It cost about $80 in materials, so not cheap, but still less than half the price of most advertised ones. It works a treat.

These sound cool-- I'll be asking for one for my birthday. Sometimes during the day I will wear an adjustable life jacket which gives me some of the pressure that I find comfortable. I haven't used it for a while, though. Someone used it while riding a jet ski/Skeedoo and it smells like salt. Not a good smell.

I love mine. I wrote about making it on my blog and have been sleeping under either the blanket or a similarly heavy feather comforter (in cold weather) ever since. It weighs 11 pounds and is very comfortable. The strategy I used can be duplicated by anyone who is experienced with quilting. I used glass beads, which are easier to wash, but the resulting blanket has the drawback of being somewhat lumpy.

Sewing a Weighted Blanket

I suggest you try to figure out whether you like the feel of a weighted blanket before you splurge on one. Do you, for example, like to squeeze yourself into tight places or wrap yourself tightly in a coat or blanket? Do you enjoy the feeling of the lead apron you get to protect you when they are taking X-rays? Do you like to be hugged tightly? In general, if you answer yes to most of those questions, then it's a safe bet that you would enjoy a weighted blanket too.