We live in anxious times.
Anxiety is simply worrying about the future. Everyone feels it at some point.
Did you know that weighted blankets can help reduce your anxiety and stress levels? And that there are clinical studies that support this.
What is a weighted blanket?
A weighted blanket is – simply – a heavy blanket. It is usually made heavy because it is filled with beads or something similar like poly pellets that are sewn into evenly spaced pockets. These pockets help distribute the weight evenly over your body.
How do weighted blankets help reduce stress and anxiety?
Weighted blankets work by using Deep Pressure Touch on your body.
Deep Pressure Touch is a consistent, gentle but firm pressure on the body. It feels a bit like a hug. This Deep Pressure works in three steps to make both your mind and body feel physically calmer.
All these reactions to Deep Pressure Touch occur in the central nervous system.
Phase 1:
In the first phase, Deep Pressure Touch shuts down your “fight or flight” instinct in the sympathetic nervous system. (If you are suffering with anxiety, this can be almost permanently “switched on”.)
Phase 2:
Secondly, Deep Pressure Touch switches the parasympathetic nervous system on. This causes your heart rate and breathing to slow. Your muscles relax and your blood pressure declines. In other words, it causes your body to de-stress biologically.
Phase 3:
This de-stressing process is then boosted. The parasympathetic nervous system also releases endorphins (or “feel-good” hormones) and the “happy neuro-transmitter serotonin. (Serotonin helps control sleep, mood, appetite, social behaviour, digestion and memory.
So, to summarise, weighted blankets can help relieve anxiety by switching off your “fight or flight” instinct, calming your body physiologically and soothing your mind by the release of “feel good” chemical compounds.
Deep Pressure Touch reduces cortisol – the stress hormone
For people with anxiety though, the Deep Pressure Touch does something else that is helpful. At least one clinical study suggests that “grounding” your body while sleeping helps to reduce your body’s cortisol production while you sleep.
Why is this important?
Because cortisol is commonly called the “stress hormone”. It causes the body’s stress-induced reactions like a rapid heart beat and increased blood pressure. It is there to help you respond quickly to life-threatening situations by shutting down non-essential functions – like your sex drive.
High cortisol levels prevent you from going to sleep. It’s that simple.
So, in addition to shutting off your fight-or-flight instinct and triggering your calming parasympathetic nervous system, a weighted blanket seems to help reduce your cortisol levels. All of this can help you go to sleep.
Sustained high levels of cortisol are linked to things like increased risk of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and diabetes.
Two things a weighted blanket should have to maximise its calming effect
Every weighted blanket should have two characteristics to maximise its Deep Pressure Touch benefits. These will help you destress, relax and feel calmer.
- The weight should be spread evenly through it, without any “bunching” or “pooling” of the weight.
- It should be the correct weight for the individual user.
The weight needs to be evenly distributed through the weighted blanket
Every weighted blanket should have the weight spread evenly through the blanket to deliver the best sleep-enhancing Deep Pressure Touch effect.
At Calming Moments we sew equal weights of micro glass beads into evenly spaced pockets throughout the blanket. Each pocket is triple-stitched, so that you can be sure that they will not break and have the beads slide into other pockets.
However, this is not enough to keep the micro glass beads evenly distributed through it.
So, we fill each blanket with two layers of cotton wadding. This spreads the beads evenly through each pocket. So, the blanket will feel heavy, but you don’t feel the individual beads.
And they don’t bunch or pool.
Our customers have found that many mass-produced weighted blankets don’t have evenly spaced weights. This means that the weight can claustrophobically focus on your chest, pinning you to your bed. With nothing on your legs. Or the other way round.
Or the weights will slide around to the bottom of the pocket.
The weight must be evenly spread through the blanket to maximise its Deep Pressure Touch so that you can feel calmer.
But even this alone is not enough to make sure that you get the correct Deep Pressure Touch on your body to get you the best sleep and anxiety-reducing result.
Every weighted blanket should be custom-made for the individual user
Occupational Therapists recommend that single bed weighted blankets should be 10% of the user’s body weight. (We recommend adding weight for the larger blankets as the weight is spread over a larger area.)
We all have different body weights.
Yet, most mass-produced weighted blankets come in a limited number of weights.
At Calming Moments, we custom make each blanket to order. We offer 20 different weight options for our weighted bed blankets. These start at 1.5kg and increase in 0.5kg increments up to 12kg.
This means that you can get the exact weight blanket that will deliver the correct Deep Pressure Touch that will help your unique body sleep better for longer.
Why a Calming Moments’ weighted blanket?
Are you ready to take the next step? Here are some reasons for you to choose a Calming Moments weighted blanket.
- We make each blanket to order. That means you get precisely the custom-made weighted blanket that you want.
- Each pocket in every weighted blanket is carefully sized so that the weights don’t gather and cause undue pressure. This spreads the weight evenly over your whole body so that you get the best possible Deep Pressure Touch effect.
- You can personalise your blanket by embroidering your name on it too.
- We weight the blankets with glass micro-beads. This means that there is no rustling noises so that you can sleep better. You also don’t feel any hard edges (as you can with poly pellets).
Widest range of fabrics and colours
You can choose from our broad range of colour options in both sensory minky or cotton. You can also design your own blanket with your choice of printed cotton.
Only weighted blanket with a 2-year guarantee
We make every weighted blanket to our high quality standards.Each blanket is double-lined and triple-stitched on the edges with hems.You can be sure that it is made to last because we give you a 2-year guarantee.
This means we will repair or remake it for FREE in the unlikely event the stitching breaks.
Machine-washable on cold, gentle cycle
Our weighted blankets are all machine-washable on cold, gentle cycle (if your machine can take the weight).
Free shipping Australia-wide
We give you FREE shipping anywhere in Australia.
- Our weighted blankets for beds come in your choice of single, king single, double, queen and king sized. We also make lap and travel blankets that you can take with you.
- The Calming Moments team has been making weighted blankets for the past seven years. So, you get all the benefit of our experience and continuous improvement in each and every weighted blanket.
Invest in feeling less anxious now
Consider, how much a good night’s sleep – because you feel less anxious – is worth to you.
$1 a night? $5 a night?
If you use a Calming Moments weighted blanket for two years, you will pay less than 50c per night for better quality, longer sleep.
Our prices reflect our high quality, certified Australian-made production. And this means real value for you – because you’ll only need to buy once.
But this also means that you can rest peacefully, secure in the knowledge that the blanket will work for you individually AND that it contains no potentially harmful inputs. (We have heard reports of weighted blankets filled with powdered glass, noisy poly pellets or beads with toxic fillers.)
Our weighted blankets are safe to use from the age of 2 because of our weight variations.
We have both Afterpay and Zip Money available for instalment sales.
But don’t take our word for it. Scroll down for a few reviews from our happy customers or you can see more on Facebook here.
What People Say:
“SEEMS TO BE HELPING MAKE HER ANXIETY EASIER”
I purchased one of your lovely travel blankets for my daughter.
She has loved it in the car and seems to be helping make her anxiety easier to manage which in turn makes it easier for me.
Your service was amazing and very fast.
-Michele H
“WAS A MASSIVE HELP KEEPING MY SON’S ANXIETY LEVELS DOWN”
We recently purchased a buddy blanket! Absolutely love it fantastic quality and super fast post.
Was also a massive help keeping my son’s anxiety levels down for a recent trip to the city and a sleep study. Perfect travel size as well!!!
Also the customer service is above and beyond! Looking forward to making a future purchases! Thanks Calming Moments ❤️
-Chantelle W
“IT’S WORTH THE MONEY”
There are many types of weighted blankets in the market, cheaper or more expensive. I really wanted an Australian made product after all this COVID year… and I’m very happy with my purchase.
My daughter doesn’t know that is a calming blanket, she just loves how it is ‘hugging’ her and that it’s a bit heavy and she sleeps so well during the night!!! We like the design and distribution of weight, size and material. I liked that I could choose the right size, design and weight . It’s worth the money.
–Maria P
“AN AUSTRALIAN-MADE PRODUCT I COULD TRUST”
I bought a Calming Moments’ weighted blanket for my teenager who struggles with many challenges. I researched whether they worked or not, and then selected an Australian-made product I could trust.
I was sceptical but desperate to find a solution to at least one of our problems. It has been a God-send from the first night.
My teenager now wakes feeling ‘good’ instead of ‘blah’, which makes their day so much easier to cope with.
A huge thank you to the Calming Moments team!
–Suzette S
“WISH I’D BOUGHT ONE YEARS AGO”
This is a very belated thank you.
Can’t thank you enough for my son’s weighted blanket. Beautifully and well made and very quick to arrive.
He sleeps so much better now. Wish I’d bought one years ago!
–Amanda C
“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE OWN”
I ordered a 2kg lap blanket for my son’s birthday in June. It is now one of the most important things we own and goes everywhere with him.
We use it over his body during nappy changes, round his shoulders during toiletting and over his lap when sitting.
The blanket is beautifully made and I love the funky monkey print.
Will probably invest in a larger size blanket soon. Very highly recommended.
–Rebecca R
“THESE BLANKETS ARE FANTASTIC”
These blankets are fantastic, my daughter has ptsd anxiety depression and stress from car accident and she uses hers every night and got another one ordered.
Highly recommend and so lovely to speak to 😊
-Leah S
“TOTALLY AMAZING QUALITY”
Had tears in my eyes when opening the weight blanket, so soft and not having beads rolling around, just looks like a normal bed quilt so my girls don’t feel different.
Totally amazing quality and looking at ordering more for my other children. Thank you so much.
-Ky W
“BEST PURCHASE YET, WORTH EVERY PENNY”
We bought the 7.5kg king quilt insert for our bed and it is so amazing! My husband is sleeping so much better (and is generally an insomniac) and I just never want to get out of bed!! Best purchase yet, worth every penny!
-Drea D
“IT USED TO TAKE HER 39 MINUTES TO SETTLE”
My daughter has been sleeping under her blanket for just 1 week.
It USED to take her at least 39 minutes to settle down and go to sleep. Last night she was completely gone in 2-3 minutes.
She USED to have night terrors 4-5 times a night, screaming in absolute fright and scaring me into an almost heart attack. She hasn’t had a single one, not one, since the first night of using her Calming Moments blanket.
Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!!
-Samantha M
So get your Calming Moments’ weighted blanket today – and soothe your anxiety away. Please click the button below to browse our store.
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