Posted on 10/03/2022 7:43:35 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A new study shows that using a weighted blanket at bedtime increases melatonin in young adults. This hormone increases in response to darkness, and some evidence suggests that it promotes sleep.
Previous research has shown that weighted blankets may ease insomnia in humans. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Hence, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden experimented with 26 young men and women to examine if the bedtime use of a weighted blanket increases the production of sleep-promoting and anti-stress hormones like melatonin and oxytocin. In addition, they investigated whether the bedtime use of a weighted blanket (12% of participants' body weight) reduced the activity of stress systems in the body. To this end, saliva was collected repeatedly from participants while they were covered with either a weighted or a light blanket to measure melatonin, oxytocin, cortisol, and the activity of the fight and flight sympathetic nervous system.
"Using a weighted blanket increased melatonin concentrations in saliva by about 30%. However, no differences in oxytocin, cortisol, and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system were observed between the weighted and light blanket conditions," says Elisa Meth, first author.
"Our study may offer a mechanism explaining why weighted blankets may exert some therapeutic benefits, such as improved sleep. However, our findings rely on a small sample and investigated only the acute effects of a weighted blanket. Thus, larger trials are needed, including an investigation of whether the observed effects of a weighted blanket on melatonin are sustained over longer periods," says senior author Christian Benedict.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Um, you’d better pick one...’young’ and ‘nubile’ could cover a lot of ‘identities’.
(Would you like my youngest cat? Very nubile, relatively young, and a terror...)
How about when my dig dogs jump on on the bed and smother me when they think I am sleeping and don’t notice 150lbs of dogs creeping on.
I don’t recall her specifically but she looks Babylon 5-ish. I liked it when it was on, and the dark Battlestar Galactica too.
But now we are moving into sci-fi world and the reality consumes the fantasy.
I love mine
It’s very comforting
Don’t know why they’d measure oxytocin though. Anyone who’s given birth will tell you that’s a hormone that is very present during labor
Maybe not so different from infant swaddling or pet thunder shirts?
I never tried a weighted blanket - it doesn’t sound comfortable. I can imagine waking up and feeling like something is pressing on one, holding one down.
We were poor when I was growing up. My mother used to make patchwork quilts and sew heavy furniture moving pads into them. The bedrooms were never heated and if you set a glass of water on the dresser in the winter, it would be frozen by morning, but you were warm with these heavy blankets.
But they were really cold when you first go into bed!
Hmmm. Guess I will have to try one.
The smoke would keep me awake.
“Do you smoke after sex?”
“I don’t know. I never looked!”
Order one with the right weight for you. If it is too heavy,the good effect is lost. Here is good source with organic cotton and custom weight in a large number of small pockets for good distribution.
https://weightedblanketsplus.com/
“But they were really cold when you first go into bed!”
Beau slept in those exact same conditions as a kid; frozen water glass, and all. Luckily, we both run hot, so keeping the house cool at night is a necessity.
His strategy was to send his younger brothers up to bed first, then kick them out and take over the warm bed, LOL!
I’m really glad I joined this ping list! I’m learning a lot, and it’s nice to be the ‘youngster’ in the crowd at age 62. :)
I am a HUGE fan of the weighted blankets. I received one as a Christmas Gift last year, and immediately fell in love.
It’s too hot for me in the summer months, but all fall/winter/early spring I just use a sheet and the weighted blanket and I am asleep immediately and don’t wake up much.
As someone else mentioned, I have the twin size; any bigger would be too heavy for me.
A comfy pillow is must as well, so don’t skimp on that if you want to sleep well. I have a Sleep Comfort bed and pillows and highly recommend those, too. Well worth the investment.
Ive got a 20 pounder.
It works great for restless legs. It holds you down pretty hard in the bed but is a very secure feeling. I can use it about 4 or 5 nights straight before it gets too heavy, then I give it a rest for a few weeks. Mine is made out of light material and 4” pockets filled with tiny glass beads for weight. It hardly raises your temp in bed but it holds you down thats for sure.
Does having cats weighing down your blankets produce the same effect?
A good quality, light weight down comforter for me!
Aren’t they hot? I take my blankets off half the night because I get too warm and I use a light blanket and sheet. I keep the temp at 77 (north FL) in the house and I still get warm.
Did you ever notice a twenty pound pet weighs 200 pounds when on top of your bed?
Among other things, like bonding with the baby, it modulates fear and anxiety.
In summer I just crank the AC to freeze. Got to have my pile o blankies!
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