Product Code Database
A weighted blanket is an especially heavy blanket that is used to aid sleep and reduce Anxiety disorder. Initially, weighted blankets were most commonly used in deep pressure therapy to assist autistic people, individuals with dementia, and mental health conditions. They have subsequently become a Mass market product. Scientific evidence does not support their use as an aid for insomnia, and they can be dangerous, particularly for children.
The main concern when considering a weighted blanket is to choose the appropriate weight because if the blanket is too light, it will just feel like a normal duvet; if instead it is too heavy, it may feel uncomfortable. A weighted blanket should be about 10% of the person's body weight: for about 97% of people this feels right. The blanket should also cover the body from the toes to the chin. After following the aforementioned weight recommendation, if the weight of the blanket doesn't feel right, it is more likely that the blanket is too heavy than too light.
Although early research indicates that weighted blankets may be an appropriate therapeutic tool for reducing anxiety, reviews in current medical literature note that research in this area is sparse.
Other studies have indicated that weighted blankets may reduce anxiety and, as a result, allow the user to fall asleep more quickly. However, in relation to insomnia, medical experts note that more research is needed, as there is not yet enough evidence to prove that the products reduce symptoms. Additionally, there is a significant placebo effect, which will need to be accounted for in future studies.
Keith and Lynda Zivalich produced the first version of a weighted blanket in 1997, when they created a bean-filled comforter now called the "Magic Weighted Blanket." They made their first sale in December 1998.
The first official study of weighted blankets as an avenue for deep-touch pressure occurred shortly after, in 1999. Tina Champagne, an occupational therapist, began researching them as a coping device for individuals in the broader special-needs community. Weighted blankets continued to increase in popularity in the special needs community, and several companies began creating product lines throughout the early- and mid-2000s.
However, it wasn't until 2017 that weighted blankets secured mainstream popularity, when the science news site Futurism launched a Kickstarter campaign for a product called the Gravity Blanket and raised almost $5 million. The company sold more than 128,000 units by putting a new spin on the product and marketing it to the public as a sleep aid and stress reducer.
In 2018, Time magazine named "blankets that ease anxiety" one of the best inventions of 2018 and cited the Gravity Blanket specifically. They noted that although Futurism didn't invent the weighted blanket, the company perfected the art of marketing it to the masses. Along these same lines, The Atlantic linked the Gravity Blanket's success, and the subsequent rise in weighted blankets, to a new way of describing and marketing their uses, describing the Gravity Blanket as a story about "the promise of life-changing comfort to the meditation-app-using, Instagram-shopping masses." The New Yorker linked the Gravity Blanket's popularity to both good timing and marketing, arguing that the previous years saw a marked rise in feelings of stress and worry in the United States and that it's "not coincidental that Gravity’s Kickstarter success arrived deep into a period when many Americans were beginning their e-mails with reflexive, panicked condolences about the news."
Retail stores around the world began selling variations of the blankets throughout 2018 and, by the end of the year, weighted blankets were on practically every gift guide on the internet.
Since securing popularity, medical doctors have noted that, while some findings have been intriguing, more research is needed to verify the efficacy of the products as sleep aids and stress reducers.
All-fabric types of weighted blankets are also available. They are often knitted or crocheted with thick and heavy materials, such as T-shirt yarn (also known as "tarn" or "T-yarn", made out of T-shirt weight cotton), which is sometimes available as recycled materials, deadstock, or byproducts of the garment industry.
Scientists caution that studies on the safety of weighted blankets in healthy adults cannot be generalized to children, and even less so to children with disabilities. Weighted blankets may be over and, due to this excessive weight, improper use of weighted blankets carries risk of harm to children, having been responsible for at least one child's death.
Weighted blankets are widely recommended for autistic children by support groups and in online forums. A 2013 review found no relevant scientific studies on the topic; there was insufficient evidence to support this use as of 2019.
Special care should also be exercised when drying a weighted blanket. Most manufacturers recommend flat drying the blankets. This can be achieved by using a flat surface, laying down a few towels to soak the excess water, and laying the weighted blanket on top to dry. Hang drying is discouraged because the weighted blanket may lose its shape and reduce its lifespan. Gentle air drying in the machine may be possible, depending on the weighted blanket filling and padding material. Plastic and synthetic fabric or padding materials may lose their properties due to excessive air temperature.
|
|
