Weighted Blanket: ADHD Sufferer’s Hope for A Good Night’s Sleep
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Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder find it difficult to focus and prioritize tasks. This can be accompanied by circadian rhythm sleep disorder, restless legs syndrome, and other sleep problems.
Everyone needs an adequate amount of sleep every night to function optimally. Unless of course, you’re Elon Musk, who apparently only sleeps 4 hours a night and ‘gets away with it’ for now. But he is the exception, not the rule.
When you suffer from an attention disorder like ADHD, it can be very difficult for you to settle down long enough to fall asleep. Daytime activities come barging in through your thoughts and running around your head like hamsters. We get it; it’s exhausting, and we want to help you alleviate ADHD symptoms as much as possible.
That is why we are about to introduce the benefits of a weighted blanket for ADHD sufferers. ADHD affects approximately 1.8 million Canadians. When left untreated, ADHD can present alongside another commonly diagnosed mental disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or GAD. Both these disorders cause an individual to feel anxious, strung-out, frazzled, unable to focus, and prone to insomnia.
Why is a weighted blanket the answer?
A weighted blanket might seem like a strange choice for correcting poor sleep, but it is highly effective at soothing the central nervous system of anyone with sleep disorders. There is plenty of research to support its usefulness, and we’ll get to that soon enough, but first, let’s get into what a weighted blanket is and how it works to achieve this soothing effect on the body.
What is a weighted blanket?
First of all, let’s make it clear that this is the medication-free way of handling ADHD symptoms. Deep touch pressure stimulation has long been recommended for ADHD as a natural therapy. DTPS is used by occupational therapists and involves gentle but firm pressure being applied to limbs and sometimes the back. If you have ever received a massage or even a nice old bear hug, then you’ll relate to what DTPS is.
DTPS can mimic the feeling of being hugged, swaddled, or cradled. According to a 2009 study by Temple Grandin, Ph.D. in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, DTPS has a calming effect in children with autism and ADHD and a similar relaxing effect in adults without a medical diagnosis.
Gravid Weighted Blankets - Canada’s No. 1 choice for a good night’s sleep
How does the weighted blanket achieve this deep pressure therapy?
Weighted blankets are filled with either plastic poly pellets or glass beads kept in place by sewing them into ‘pockets’. This causes the pellets or beads to be evenly distributed across the blanket, and with the added weight bears down gently on the sleeper's body, giving the feeling of a hug.
Premium-weighted blankets will use much smaller squares, as small as 4" x 4", for optimal weight distribution. This is very helpful because it provides an effective comforting therapy whether you’re sleeping alone or sharing with someone. Everyone will get their share of the ‘hugs.’
One of the biggest benefits of weighted blankets. The ease of use.
Weighted blankets are taken out of the box, zipped into their covers, and thrown on the bed. What could be easier than that? All you have to do is get under it and wait for the soothing effects to reach your body and mind.
Since 2017, Gravid has become a leader in weighted blanket innovation, taking feedback from 60,000 Canadian customers to create a unique therapeutic blanket. Gravid ranks amongst the highest in terms of material selection, weight distribution, and ease of use.
Gravid is the ONLY weighted blanket with ZipperTech™ for a guaranteed no-sag experience. The durable zipper goes all the way around the perimeter for weight that is always perfectly distributed.
You can try the Gravid weighted blanket immediately by ordering online.
Still not sure? Heard too many cures and tried them all, only to be disappointed? Perhaps the voices of our happy customers will help before we dive into the research.
“I am finding the blanket helps calm me and keeps me from tossing and turning. I’m very happy.”
- Kathy D - verified purchase
“I bought the cooling weighted blanket for my husband and he adores it. He’s been using it for a little over a week now and he’s slept deeper and more comfortably than before. The blanket shipped quickly and arrived within a few days with no issues at all. So far, very happy with the purchase.”
- Courtney L - verified purchase
“I've had the King sized 35lb weighted blanket for a week now and have slept very well. My Fitbit has informed me my average sleep score has gone up by at least 5 points per night. I find I'm falling asleep quicker and waking up less often. When I do wake up, I find I am waking up for shorter periods of time, sometimes not even registering as being awake at all. Last night, my Fitbit said I slept for 9 hours straight, something I don't think I've done in years.”
- Michael H - verified purchase
What does the research tell us about weighted blankets for ADHD?
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Study of sleep quality in adults and children with ADHD
Research on the use of weighted blankets for individuals with ADHD has shown promising results in improving sleep quality and relaxation.
A study that included both children and adults diagnosed with ADHD and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) found that the use of weighted blankets contributed to improvements in falling asleep, staying asleep throughout the night, and relaxation during the day.
The study highlighted that using these blankets positively impacted the morning and evening routines of the participants, including preparation for sleep and waking up. [1]
Study on the reduction of insomnia in adults
A systematic review aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of weighted blankets in reducing anxiety and insomnia highlighted the potential benefits of weighted blankets in certain settings and populations. [2]
In this study, weighted blankets were used as an adjunctive therapy for adults and children to mitigate common ADHD symptoms. The promising results led to further investigation into using these blankets in other emotional health imbalances and for patients who have trouble falling asleep in intensive care units.
Study to show the effectiveness of weighted blankets for insomnia
The deep pressure provided by a weighted blanket, along with consistent sensory input from its weight, is thought to work by lowering stress and reducing physiological arousal, thereby improving sleep. We tested whether a weighted blanket would improve sleep.
30 participants with objectively measured sleep onset and sleep maintenance issues participated in a 6-week field study, using a weighted blanket every night at home. The blanket was filled with microbeads and weighed approximately 10 percent of each participant’s body weight. [3]
Respondents reported an increase in the following areas:
- Better sleep cycles
- A decrease in light sleep
- An improvement in REM sleep
- An improvement in severe symptoms related to anxiety
- Less awake time during the night
A study highlighting the struggles of children with ADHD to fall asleep
ADHD affects approximately 5-7% of children in Canada. That’s 2,67 million children battling to sleep at night, which also affects their parents, leading to many unhappy and unproductive citizens.
A randomized controlled crossover trial found that weighted blankets are effective in improving sleep duration, sleep maintenance, and decreasing sleep disruption in children with ADHD. This suggests that weighted blankets could be recommended as a non-pharmacological intervention for sleep difficulties associated with ADHD, highlighting their potential inclusion in clinical guidelines as a first-line intervention. [4]
The parasympathetic nervous system, which contrasts the ‘fight and flight’ responses of the sympathetic nervous system, is activated, and the weighted blanket helps trigger a calming response in the body.
Gravid has different blanket sizes, which may also be suitable for teens and young adults depending on their age, build, and height. The golden rule is that the blanket should not be more than 10% of the child’s body weight. However as a precaution, the Gravid Weighted Blanket is not intended for use by:
- Children under the age of 10 years old.
- Any individual that weighs less than 100 pounds.
This research positively highlights the beneficial effect that a weighted blanket will have on the symptoms of ADHD. But let’s examine the specific symptoms that ADHD sufferers can find relief from with a blanket like this.
ADHD Symptom Relief
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The following symptoms are similar for both adults and children who struggle with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Having a short attention span and being easily distracted
- Making careless mistakes
- Appearing forgetful or losing things
- Being unable to stick to tasks that are tedious or time-consuming
- Appearing to be unable to listen to or carry out instructions
- Constantly changing activity or task
- Having difficulty organizing tasks
- Being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
- Constantly fidgeting
- Being unable to concentrate on tasks
- Excessive physical movement
- Excessive talking
- Being unable to wait their turn
- Acting without thinking
- Interrupting conversations
- Little or no sense of danger
These symptoms may, at first glance, appear to be unrelated to sleeping disorders. However, almost all of these symptoms signal a dysregulation of the body’s nervous system and brain chemistry.
A century ago, adequate sleep was the ‘cure-all’ prescribed by doctors, but our modern living seems to work against getting enough sleep on every front. A constant bombardment of noise, lights, radio waves emitted by electronic equipment, and artificial light from digital devices make it almost impossible to sleep, aggravating disorders such as ADHD.
There are, of course, other sleep aids such as block-out curtains, earplugs, eye masks, herbal remedies, and white noise machines that are not the subject of this article, that can also help, but for ADHD weighted blankets just make sense. Since the problem lies in the nervous system, it has to be one of the prime areas that gets therapeutic attention.
You no longer have to be sleep-deprived. With deep touch pressure therapy, you can fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Long term, you will be giving yourself the nightly therapy that millions pay occupational therapists for.
Take the first step and give yourself the rest you need
The path to a good night’s sleep
This medical condition affects millions of people worldwide. But there’s no need to keep suffering when a therapeutic, natural solution backed by medical science is available. Every day, studies are being conducted in countries looking to relieve neurological disorders with a simple yet effective remedy.
Weighted blankets are a safe option that will help your body relax, decrease stress hormones, and increase ‘feel good’ hormones. Your mental health is a top priority and at Gravid we’ve found a way to help people with better sleep quality.
Life is too short to struggle with sleep problems and the negative effects of sleep deprivation, making life harder than it needs to be.
Buy the simple solution to ease ADHD sleep problems.
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