Weighted Anxiety Blanket

 

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to stressful or dangerous situations that induce fear or mental pressure upon a person. This is where the anxiety blanket comes in as a natural tool that can support you during a challenging time. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the definition of anxiety is the following:

“Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat.”

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), general anxiety disorder affects 6.8 million adults or 3.1 percent of the U.S. population. Women are twice as likely to be affected by general anxiety disorder than men. However, that’s not all; once we review the number of all anxiety related disorders the percentages rise dramatically. In fact, 18.1 percent of the population in the U.S. or 40 million adults are affected by anxiety in one form or another, E.g PTSD.

Given all of the above, Baloo Living created a weighted blanket, which can be used as an anxiety blanket that helps the user connect mind and body, to calm the nervous system.. Weighted blankets are, in fact, a safe alternative that can help limit your body’s response to external stressful stimuli. The Baloo weighted blanket for adults functions by implementing deep pressure touch technology, which grounds the body and provides a calm “hugging” feeling.

This type of blanket is heavier than a regular one because it has lead-free glass microbeads sewn into small pockets inside the 100 percent cotton fabric to create the deep pressure touch stimulation. The pockets are evenly dispersed across the whole length of the blanket to give the feeling of a gentle and soft hug. The goal is to reduce your cortisol levels.

How does a Weighted Anxiety Blanket work?

Cortisol is famously known as the “stress hormone” and causes more than one trouble in the proper functioning of your body. It can affect learning and memory, lower immune function and bone density, increase weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, and that’s not even the half of it. By using a weighted anxiety blanket, you can reduce elevated levels of this hormone.

Cortisol itself is released as the body responds to stress or fear, activating the fight-or-flight mechanism. The correlation was discovered back in 1936 by Canadian biochemist Hans Selye of McGill University in Montreal, who made a distinction between good and bad levels of cortisol. In short, if you don’t have a physical outlet that releases the cortisol from your body, it’s the bad kind, which can disrupt many internal processes.

Since we’re living in a fast-paced society that may overstimulate our cortisol levels daily, without a proper release we must find alternative ways to lower and limit production. An anxiety blanket can help with that through deep pressure touch stimulation.

If you’re wondering why reducing cortisol is so essential for reducing stress and anxiety, we'll explain it here in detail. Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex within the adrenal gland that activates the “fight-or-flight” mechanism in the human body. Even though this is very helpful and necessary in life-threatening situations, when you’re producing cortisol in a normal, everyday setting, it causes unnecessary strain.

These are the symptoms of increased cortisol levels in the body:

• Anxiety and stress
• Easy bruising
• Weight gain and rounding of the face
• Weight gain in the midsection and upper back
• Acne
• Muscle weakness
• Thinning skin
• Flushed face
• Slowed healing

Boosting serotonin levels with an Anti-anxiety Blanket

Another quite significant benefit of an anti-anxiety blanket is elevated serotonin levels during sleep. Serotonin is the true opposite of cortisol, which is why we know it as the “happy chemical.” There are numerous functions in the body which will not function properly without serotonin. For example, serotonin controls your appetite, emotions, and motor, cognitive and autonomic functions. It also regulates your mood.

The use of weighted blankets can naturally increase your serotonin levels. That’s because of the deep touch pressure stimulation on specific pressure points all over the body. The “hugging” or “touching” simulation also raises the "feel good" hormones, which when paired up with serotonin, improves your mood and efficiency. The “grounding” of your body during sleep provides you with relief and comfort.

Use your Blanket for Anxiety and Deep Sleep  

Last but not least, we want to touch upon the subject of insomnia. As you already know a weighted blanket for anxiety has more than one purpose. In fact, it can also help you get rid of some other problems, insomnia and increased difficulty when falling asleep chief among them. You can even consider it as a weighted blanket for insomnia.

There are numerous articles on this subject which all confirm that deep touch pressure stimulation may be incredibly helpful for insomnia. In fact, research and empirical evidence prove the benefits of weighted blankets for individuals with long-standing problems with sleeping. Users experienced a calmer night's sleep, and a decrease in movement. Those suffering from insomnia stated that the blanket provided them with a more comfortable, better quality and more secure sleep.

The main conclusion is that weighted blankets offer an array of benefits for users, from reducing anxiety levels to improving mood and sleep. By dropping the cortisol levels in the body with the deep touch pressure stimulation, you may be able to enjoy a better night's rest. Plus, you’ll feel the comfort of the soft and delicate Baloo blanket on you.

If you’re searching for an alternative, holistic and natural approach towards anxiety or insomnia, the anxiety blanket would be ideal for you. The weighted blanket can increase the quality of your sleep and improve your mood at the same time.

Written by Elizabeth Grojean. Elizabeth founded Baloo Living after experiencing the profound feeling of a weighted blanket. Elizabeth is committed to helping people live more balanced, grounded lives through products that provide gentle support.