5 Things to Know About Weighted Blankets for Anxiety

Last week, I brought you three mindfulness exercises to practice as a natural strategy for managing your anxiety (or amplifying the benefits of your medication).  Today, let’s talk about weighted blankets.  You may have heard about them and wondered whether they actually work.  Today, I’ll review the research for you with 5 things you need to know about weighted blankets for anxiety.  

1. Weighted Blankets Work for Anxiety

While there’s lots of anecdotal evidence, actual experiments researching how effective weighted blankets are in managing mental health are sparse.  That said, the existing evidence suggests weighted blankets can be helpful for managing anxiety.  For example, in this study, 63% of people reported lower anxiety after they used a weighted blanket.  

2. Weighted Blankets Calm Anxiety Through Deep Pressure Stimulation 

As you probably know, newborns tend to calm down when they’re swaddled.  Swaddling is a form of deep pressure stimulation or deep touch pressure, which helps nurture or soothe the baby the same way a firm hug or massage feels soothing to adults.  Thundershirts for dogs work by the same principle.  

There’s been lots of research about deep pressure stimulation and deep touch pressure in general, but not really much about whether it helps manage anxiety or whether weighted blankets actually do anything physiologically.  Until recently.  There have been a few reports come out within the past few years with preliminary evidence that weighted blankets actually do something.  For example, this study showed that weighted blankets calm the nervous system, which calms anxiety.  

3. Weighted Blankets Might Help Insomnia 

Many people with anxiety also have difficulty sleeping, so coping strategies that are effective for both anxiety and insomnia are especially useful.  As I mentioned, the research on weighted blankets is in its infancy, but there’s some very early preliminary evidence that weighted blankets might be helpful for managing insomnia.  The jury’s still out on this one, though, so stay tuned for updates.  

4. Weighted Blankets Can Have Some Side Effects

Besides getting a little hot, there aren’t really any side effects of using a weighted blanket — especially when compared to medication.  But be sure to check with your physician before trying one out because the weight can affect circulation, respiration, and temperature regulation in some people.  

5. Weighted Blankets Are a Great Adjunct to Therapy & Medication for Anxiety

Keep in mind, weighted blankets help calm your nervous system, but they can’t actually resolve whatever is causing the anxiety to begin with (like burnout or stress or coping mechanisms that are actually keeping you stuck).  Therefore, a more active treatment (like psychotherapy) might be appropriate, with a weighted blanket as an adjunct to support those therapeutic benefits.  This is especially true if you have an anxiety disorder versus just everyday anxiety — if you’re not sure how to tell the difference, check out this article with 7 key differences between anxiety disorders and everyday anxiety.  When you go to therapy, carry along my worksheets to maximize your therapy sessions.  

If you’re looking for other natural strategies for managing anxiety, check out my 9 ways to manage anxiety without medication. 

If you’re searching for a weighted blanket for your anxiety, I’m betting you also deal with self-criticism (somehow, they seem to go together). Next week, I’ll give you 6 proven strategies to silence your inner critic.  Don’t miss it.

Talk to you soon,

Dr. Finch

P.S.    Remember, this is education, not treatment.  Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you.  See the disclaimer for more details.