The Science of Weighted Blankets

1 Simple Tweak For Optimal Sleep

We spend 33% of our lives sleeping...
DO NOT spend another night tossing and turning, or waking up feeling unrested!
Read every word in today’s article and you'll understand the science behind weighted blankets...
And why making one simple change to your sleep completely transforms it into what some are calling...
“A Little Piece of Heaven.”

What Are Weighted Blankets?

Weighted blankets are quickly becoming one of the most popular alternatives to expensive pills, medications, and therapies for easing sleep anxiety and improving overall health and wellbeing.

In recent years, these weighted wonders have been implemented to help everyday people deal with stress, insomnia, and even PTSD.

That’s because a good weighted blanket molds to your body like a gentle hug, and simulates what scientists call “deep touch pressure.”

The pressure relaxes the nervous system and encourages serotonin production, which lifts your mood. And when serotonin naturally converts to melatonin, your body takes the cue to rest.

This means a calmer mind and deeper sleep for a healthier life.

What Is Deep Touch Pressure?

Though weighted blankets are no miracle cure...

They have been shown to help veterans with PTSD sleep through the night without panic attacks or night terrors...

And thus, have become an unlikely, yet powerful and affordable tool for self-healing.

A weighted blanket works by energizing the body’s natural ability to respond positively and effectively to stress.

It does so through DTP (deep touch pressure).

Deep touch pressure is shown to have therapeutic effects on the body, specifically our parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, both of which are integral parts of the nervous system.

The gentle pressure of the blanket creates feel-good, calming sensations mimicking deep touch pressure.

This helps activate the parasympathetic response, putting your body into “rest and digest” mode... which is responsible for conserving energy and slowing the heart rate.

On the other hand, the sympathetic system is responsible for our “fight or flight” response, triggered in stressful situations.

Deep touch pressure affects each of these systems by:

• Increasing parasympathetic activity, thereby slowing down the heart rate and calming the nervous system
• Decreasing sympathetic activity by decreasing cortisol (stress hormone) levels, pacifying your fight or flight response, and relaxing the body

To understand why this happens, consider the body’s biological response to being nervous:

• Increased heart rate
• Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
• Increased sweat production
• Plus countless other signals

Deep touch pressure actually does the opposite.

Much like deep breathing, meditation, and other relaxing “non-activities”...

Deep touch pressure can help us regulate our body’s chemistry naturally, while promoting calmness and balance—inside and out.

That’s because deep touch pressure sparks the brain to release neurotransmitters with a calming effect on the body.

It especially encourages the production of serotonin, known as the “happy hormone”, which plays an important role in our feeling of wellbeing and regulates our mood.

Further, serotonin is what leads to the production of melatonin, the “darkness hormone”. It’s what controls our sleep/wake cycles, thereby helping to balance our sleeping patterns.

All of these chemicals work together to relax the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and stimulate healthy, restful sleep.

And that’s where weighted blankets come in...

In order to create the effect of deep touch pressure, a weighted blanket wraps around you and contours to your body.

The body’s reaction to the comfort and pressure of the blanket isn’t just superficial; the weighted blanket mimics an evenly distributed hug, which floods our whole body with positive response signals.

Studies show that this sensation helps reduce blood pressure and slow the heart rate — hence the calming effect.

Once wrapped in the comforting hug of the weighted blanket, energy and stress levels decrease, mood-boosting hormones increase, and the body relaxes naturally.

Opinions From The Scientific Community

According to Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Cristina Cusin, "Weighted blankets have been around for a long time, especially for kids with autism or behavioral disturbances.”

Their effectiveness as a natural, drug-free, and versatile tool for reducing stress has been widely known and studied within the medical community...

It’s only recently that these findings have made their way outside and applied in the home.

By working on both the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, this “body hug” sensation can provide comfort to those suffering from insomnia to PTSD.

A 2006 study from the Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Journal shows that of those tested, “63% reported lower anxiety after use, and 78% preferred the weighted blanket as a calming modality.”

To put it simply, weighted blankets provide comfort, calm the senses, and lift our mood.

But what if you don’t have an anxiety or stress disorder?

A weighted blanket could still be a great addition to your relaxation routine.

For everyday people living ordinary lives, weighted blankets can help increase relaxation and mood, promote more restful sleep, and destress naturally.

It's as easy as using it while relaxing on the couch or reading a book. 

How to Use Weighted Blankets

By now you know that weighted blankets administer deep touch pressure to the body...

Which sets off a number of positive activities in our brain, releasing mood-boosting serotonin, while lowering our heart rate, among other great perks that can lead to better sleep.

So how exactly do we use a weighted blanket to see the most beneficial effects?

There isn’t really one “right” way to use a weighted blanket. You can:

• Use it overnight while sleeping
• During the day while laying down or seated
• It can even be wrapped around your shoulders while standing.

Those who have trouble sleeping will most likely use this blanket in bed as a sleep aid...

But you don’t have to be an insomniac in order to get the benefits!

For anyone who could use a better night’s sleep, whether you have high stress levels...

Or your mind races a mile a minute once you hit the sack...

Or feelings of anxiety keep you awake...

Sleeping under a little extra weight can soothe and alleviate any number of sleep issues.

In the future, this is how you'll want to sleep...

Only you don’t have to wait. You can start right now!

Introducing Baloo’s Weighted Blanket

Baloo Weighted Blankets are perfect for those who:

• Toss and turn when they wish to be sleeping
• Are concerned with sleeping enough hours every night
• Frequently deal with stress and overwork
• Are light sleepers or unable to get enough deep sleep
• Have tried other sleep solutions without success
• Are looking for a natural way to calm and relax their nervous system
• Would like to wake up feeling refreshed and energized