Who Can Benefit From A Weighted Blanket?

Weighted blankets work by providing input to the deep pressure touch receptors throughout the body.

Deep pressure touch helps the body relax. Like a firm hug, weighted blankets help us feel secure, grounded, and safe, this is the reason many people like to sleep under a comforter even in summer.

They can provide relief; comfort and can help supplement sensory disorder therapy treatment for the following:

Sensory Disorders of any kind (weighted therapy can help increase Serotonin and Melatonin levels overnight)

Sleep disorders of any kind: weighted therapy can help increase the levels of Serotonin and Melatonin overnight

Insomnia, Falling asleep and staying asleep

ADD/ADHD Spectrum Disorder (many ADHD kids use our blankets to calm down after school or during Therapy sessions, or to relax and fall asleep)

Asperger's and Autism Spectrum Disorder (many of these kids use our blankets to calm down after school or during Therapy sessions)

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and fidgeting legs due to chemotherapy treatments or Menopause

Anxious Feelings and Panic symptoms, Tension. Cancer or Dental Anxiety, Peri-menopause and Menopause symptoms

Sensory Integration Disorders/Sensory Processing Disorders

People who are 65 or older: weighted blankets help calm a myriad of symptoms, including those who have Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

The deep pressure touch simulation or swaddling that happens when you cuddle up with a Weighted Blanket can help you or your loved one feel better and ease the mind allowing for complete relaxation.

The principal idea is that firm pressure on the body for an extended period can calm the mind.

Research has found that deep pressure touch stimulation releases serotonin, a chemical in the brain that works as a neurotransmitter in the regulation of mood, sleep and sensory perception. Weighted blankets mimic deep pressure touch stimulation and thus have a calming and soothing effect. Sensory processing disorders generally accompany other conditions and many that appear on the autism spectrum. The sensory disorders cause children to seek sensory stimulation or to "stim," which is characterized by such actions as flapping the arms or, in severe cases, self-injurious behaviors. A weighted blanket counteracts this need for sensory stimulation. The pressure that the blanket puts on the child's body meets the child's need for physical sensation and simultaneously calms the child down.

Parents of special-needs children, know how difficult it can be to calm them when they are upset or frightened.

Most parents or caretakers of these children learn their child's signs and tics and know when the child needs soothing. Weighted blankets are one relatively effective calming tool, especially to help your child sleep. These blankets have small weights sewn into them so the weight is evenly distributed. The blanket acts as a kind of pressure therapy to release serotonin and help the child calm down.

Weighted blankets are also very helpful in adults.

The have been shown to help significantly with anxiety, dementia, and especially with the trauma and sleep issues that accompany PTSD. Weight On Me Blankets are currently being used on soldiers in the field in our War Zones overseas, as well as on soldiers that have returned and are trying to recover. Pressure therapy is also very beneficial for Chronic Pain conditions including Fibromyalgia and patients undergoing treatment for various conditions including cancer

WHAT CAN A WEIGHTED BLANKET DO FOR YOU?

Help you or your child sleep through the night

Reduce anxiety and stress

Ease restlessness and irritability in the elderly

Prevent or short-circuit a meltdown

Improve focus

Ease transitions

The idea of using weighted blankets comes from a study that focused on the effect of deep pressure and children with sensory integration disorders which is common in children with autism.

Children with autism tend to sleep less than other children and are often very restless in their sleep. Some people use weighted lap pads or vests along with the weighted blankets. These weighted lap pads and vests employ the same concept as the weighted blankets applying stimulating pressure that provides comfort and relaxation. Many children take the weighted lap pads to school as they are effective in decreasing the child's need to constantly move around.

"In psychiatric care, weighted blankets are one of our most powerful tools for helping people who are anxious, upset, and possibly on the verge of losing control," says Karen Moore, OTR/L, an occupational therapist in Franconia, N.H.

"These blankets work by providing input to the deep pressure touch receptors throughout the body,"

Moore says. "Deep pressure touch helps the body relax. Like a firm hug, weighted blankets help us feel secure, grounded, and safe." Moore says this is the reason many people like to sleep under a comforter even in summer.

Weighted Blankets, Wraps, or LapPads can be used to calm down and relax in many different ways by covering the whole body for sleep, wrapping around your shoulders or by laying it across your lap or legs only.

Weighted blankets can be used at bedtime to induce sleep and left on overnight or for as long as the user wants or needs.

If the blanket is used for a calming effect, it can stay on as long as needed. There are no ill effects of leaving a weighted blanket on for long periods of time, and the benefits are wonderful. Many people compare them to receiving a big hug. You receive a wonderful sense of security and calm.