A weighted blanket is an especially heavy blanket that is used to aid sleep and reduce anxiety. Initially, weighted blankets were most commonly used as therapeutic tools to assist individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 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.
Weighted blankets are used in occupational therapy in an attempt to help individuals improve their emotional and physical regulation. [1] Specifically, weighted blankets are used in a type of occupational therapy called "sensory integration therapy", which helps people with autism or other mental conditions focus on sensory experiences. Weighted blankets are just one of the many tools occupational therapists use to provide "deep-touch pressure," a form of physical stimulation that, according to experts, may help individuals regulate their emotions and behavior. [2]
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: this feels appropriate for about 97% of people.[ citation needed ] The blanket should also cover the body from the toes to the chin. When following the mentioned weight recommendation, if the weighted blanket weight doesn't feel right, it is much more likely for the blanket to be too heavy than too light.
Although early research indicates that weighted blankets may be an appropriate therapeutic tool when it comes to reducing anxiety, reviews of current medical literature note that research in this area is sparse. [3]
Other studies have indicated that weighted blankets may reduce anxiety and, as a result, allow the wearer to fall asleep more quickly. However, medical experts also note that more research is needed into this area, as there is not yet enough evidence to prove that the products are helpful with insomnia. Additionally, there is a very real placebo effect when it comes to insomnia symptoms, which will need to be accounted for in future studies. [4]
Some of the earliest research into the form of deep-touch pressure that weighted blankets use took place in 1992, when an American scientist with autism, Temple Grandin, invented the Hug Machine and used it to study the calming effects of deep-touch pressure in patients with autistic disorder. [5] Following these principles, Keith Zivalich produced the first version of a weighted blanket it 1997, when he created a bean-filled comforter for children called "The Magic Blanket." He made his first sale in December 1998. [6]
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. [7]
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." [8] [9] [10]
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. [11] 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." [7] 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." [12]
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. [8]
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. [4]
A common type of weighted blanket is made out of a fabric blanket divided into small compartments, which are then filled with plastic pellets or small beads. Plastic-filled blankets are typically more affordable, but bulkier; and some consumers prefer to avoid plastics for personal or environmental reasons. Glass or metal are considered less likely to cause allergic reactions; and due to their inherent density, less bulk is required to achieve the same weight. [2]
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.
A 2018 systematic review, which investigated the effectiveness of using weighted blankets to decrease anxiety and insomnia, found that weighted blankets may be an appropriate therapeutic tool in reducing anxiety in limited settings and populations. However, the researchers also found that there is not enough evidence to suggest they are helpful with insomnia, and investigating their use was hampered by inconsistent practice. [1]
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. [13] Weighted blankets may be over 25 pounds (11.5 kg) 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. [14]
Weighted blankets are widely recommended for autistic children by support groups and in online forums. However, there is no good scientific evidence that they have any positive effect on sleep or well-being. [15]
Weighted blankets are increasingly being used to try to aid sleep in children with autism, despite the fact that there continues to be insufficient evidence at present to support this use. [14]
Due to size and weight, weighted blankets are often difficult to launder (some are also made of materials that cannot be machine-washed). Therefore, many blankets are sold alongside a machine-washable cover. Additionally, the blanket's weight may exceed the maximum load allowed by a washing machine, and should always be checked in advance. A delicate wash in cold water is generally preferred, as this preserves the properties of the padding material and prevents damage to the weighted pellets/beads. In most cases, how often to wash a weighted blanket depends on how the owner uses it.
Special care should also be exercised when drying a weighted blanket. Most manufacturers recommend flat drying the blankets. [16] [17] 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. [18]
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome, formerly described a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The syndrome has been merged with other disorders into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is no longer considered a stand-alone diagnosis. It was considered milder than other diagnoses that were merged into ASD due to relatively unimpaired spoken language and intelligence.
A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of an individual's sleep patterns. Some sleep disorders are severe enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Sleep disorders are frequent and can have serious consequences on patients’ health and quality of life. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests commonly ordered for diagnosing sleep disorders.
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and a depressed mood. It may result in an increased risk of accidents of all kinds as well as problems focusing and learning. Insomnia can be short term, lasting for days or weeks, or long term, lasting more than a month. The concept of the word insomnia has two possibilities: insomnia disorder (ID) and insomnia symptoms, and many abstracts of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews often underreport on which of these two possibilities the word insomnia refers to.
Noise-cancelling headphones are a special type of headphones which suppress unwanted ambient sounds using active noise control. This is distinct from passive headphones which, if they reduce ambient sounds at all, use techniques such as soundproofing.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders that begin in early childhood, persist throughout adulthood, and affect three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction and restricted patterns of behavior. There are many conditions comorbid to autism spectrum disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and epilepsy.
High-functioning autism (HFA) was historically an autism classification where a person exhibits no intellectual disability, but may experience difficulty in communication, emotion recognition, expression, and social interaction.
A hug machine, also known as a hug box, a squeeze machine, or a squeeze box, is a therapeutic device designed to calm hypersensitive persons, usually individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The device was invented by Temple Grandin to administer deep-touch pressure, a type of physical stimulation often self-administered by autistic individuals as a means of self-soothing.
Sensory overload occurs when one or more of the body's senses experiences over-stimulation from the environment.
Autism therapies include a wide variety of therapies that help people with autism, or their families. Such methods of therapy seek to aid autistic people in dealing with difficulties and increase their functional independence.
Weighted clothing are garments that have heavy materials incorporated into them, to add weight to various parts of the body, usually as part of resistance training. The effect is achieved through attaching weighted pieces to the body which leave the hands free to grasp objects. Unlike with held weights or machines, weighted clothing can leave users more able to do a variety of movements and manual labour. In some cases certain weighted clothing can be worn under normal clothing, to disguise its use to allow exercise in casual environments.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a method of deep muscle relaxation that does not involve any medications, meaning it is a non-pharmacological intervention. The idea behind progressive muscle relaxation is that there is a relationship between a person's mind and body. The body responds to its environment by creating certain mind or body states such as anxiety, stress, and fear. When the body is in these states, the muscles tense up. Progressive muscle relaxation aims to reverse these body states back to more neutral, relaxed states.
Sensory integration therapy (SIT) was originally developed by occupational therapist A. Jean Ayres in the 1970s to help children with sensory-processing difficulties. It was specifically designed to treat Sensory Processing Disorder. Sensory Integration Therapy is based on A. Jean Ayres's Sensory Integration Theory, which proposes that sensory-processing is linked to emotional regulation, learning, behavior, and participation in daily life. Sensory integration is the process of organizing sensations from the body and from environmental stimuli.
Societal and cultural aspects of autism or sociology of autism come into play with recognition of autism, approaches to its support services and therapies, and how autism affects the definition of personhood. The autistic community is divided primarily into two camps; the autism rights movement and the Pathology paradigm. The pathology paradigm advocates for supporting research into therapies, treatments, and/or a cure to help minimize or remove autistic traits, seeing treatment as vital to help individuals with autism, while the neurodiversity movement believes autism should be seen as a different way of being and advocates against a cure and interventions that focus on normalization, seeing it as trying to exterminate autistic people and their individuality. Both are controversial in autism communities and advocacy which has led to significant infighting between these two camps. While the dominant paradigm is the pathology paradigm and is followed largely by autism research and scientific communities, the neurodiversity movement is highly popular among most autistic people, within autism advocacy, autism rights organizations, and related neurodiversity approaches have been rapidly growing and applied in the autism research field in the last few years.
Classic autism, also known as childhood autism, autistic disorder, (early) infantile autism, infantile psychosis, Kanner's autism,Kanner's syndrome, or (formerly) just autism, is a neurodevelopmental condition first described by Leo Kanner in 1943. It is characterized by atypical and impaired development in social interaction and communication as well as restricted, repetitive behaviors, activities, and interests. These symptoms first appear in early childhood and persist throughout life.
Autism, formally called autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by deficits in reciprocal social communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Other common signs include difficulties with social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, along with perseverative interests, stereotypic body movements, rigid routines, and hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input. Autism is clinically regarded as a spectrum disorder, meaning that it can manifest very differently in each person. For example, some are nonspeaking, while others have proficient spoken language. Because of this, there is wide variation in the support needs of people across the autism spectrum.
Autism-friendly means being aware of social engagement and environmental factors affecting people on the autism spectrum, with modifications to communication methods and physical space to better suit individual's unique and special needs.
Discrimination against autistic people is the discrimination, persecution, and oppression that autistic people have been subjected to. Discrimination against autistic people is a form of ableism.
Jolene Creighton is an American media executive, entrepreneur, and consultant. She was the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the science news site Futurism. In 2017, Creighton co-Founded Gravity Products, a subsidiary of Futurism. The company's inaugural product, The Gravity Blanket, pioneered the weighted blanket movement. Creighton also served as Editor-in-Chief of the science and technology news site Interesting Engineering and Executive Editor at the Web3 media publication NFTnow.
Sensory friendly is a designed environment which is an accommodation for people who have a sensory dysfunction or a sensory processing disorder. There are sensory friendly experiences which are offered by businesses and there is also sensory friendly furniture.
Autistic burnout is a prolonged state of intense fatigue, decreased executive functioning or life skills, and increased sensory processing sensitivity experienced by autistic people. Autistic burnout is thought to be caused by stress arising from masking or living in a neurotypical environment that does not accommodate needs of autistic people.
