Twirl from one side then the other. Chronic insomniacs know what the search for sleep translates into. Some have tried almost everything for more restful and restorative nights.
What if the solution was the weighted blanket? As its name suggests, it is a duvet weighed down with plastic microbeads for the lightest models or in metal for the heavier models. Total weight, between 6 and 10 kg. “The idea of a heavier blanket for better nights is actually not new,” says neurologist Marc Rey. “Remember the duvets and sheets from our grandparents. Since then, science has been there. Many studies have indeed shown that, in the management of psychiatric pathologies associated with insomnia, adding weight improves the quality of sleep by reducing anxiety. “
Not a simple gadget
For the President of INSV, “being wrapped in such a blanket brings a certain serenity and calms, a bit like a cocoon. “
In 2020, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, looked into the question. They have indeed observed benefits in patients diagnosed with chronic insomnia. According to them, “these processes, by applying pressure to the whole body, relax the muscles, like a massage. This pressure on the body would increase the parasympathetic arousal of the autonomic nervous system and at the same time reduce the sympathetic arousal. This phenomenon plays a central role in relaxation and sleep ”.
Not for everybody
Dr Rey warns, however, that weighted blankets may not be advisable for everyone. “Some may feel oppressed. Claustrophobes may not buy into it. And for people with restless leg syndrome, who need to move for relief, it can just become unbearable. “
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