I have a love hate relationship with sleep… I absolutely love it (duh) but I have a really hard time falling asleep. I have ever since I was in grade school. Of course, I started hearing all these crazy things about weighted blankets and reading all the weighted blanket reviews… I really wanted to try one. I’ve been looking at them for about a year now but with the price tag I just couldn’t justify the price.
Especially since I haven’t struggled with sleep since I met my hubby and I really wanted it for those nights he was gone and I once again struggled. When my hubby passed away in December I went ahead and pushed the buy button… the sleep struggles were back with a vengeance. And now they were accompanied with panic and anxiety attacks.
Weighted Blankets are suppose to help with sensory issues such as ADD and autism but they also are amazing for anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. The weight is distributed evenly over the blanket making it feel like a warm hug or pressure over the entire body.
How Does the Weighted Blanket Work With Anxiety or Panic Attacks?
I have laid down with this blanket after struggling to curb my anxiety for several hours and within half an hour felt calm enough to go make dinner. I use it every single night and while it’s not a miracle cure (I can still get sad or upset while using it) I have noticed that my panic attacks have stopped since it arrived. I was having 2-3 panic attacks a week (all at night) before I started using this guy… reaching over in the middle of the night to find an empty bed where my hubby use to be is very upsetting.
My brother bought me a body pillow the day after my hubby died and that helps but the weighted blanket is definitely a game changer. Of course, now I have more pillows and blankets on my bed than any sane person should have but they make me feel so much better.
Can I Pick My Own Fabric?
The blanket I ended up buying is from Momentarily Me and if you haven’t gathered by now I love it. I looked into several blankets before deciding which one I wanted but for me the deciding factors were: price, size, quality and custom options.
I really wanted to pick my own fabrics and I love the way this sweet blush pink pairs with the quirky Lamas. While there are plenty of shops where you can pick a custom fabric option I had trouble finding a shop that didn’t add a huge fee for this option. Momentarily Me lets you pick whichever fabric you like from a couple of stores for no added fee… so I was able to get my llamas without any hassle.
I really wanted a blanket that was pretty to display on one side (the pink) and had llamas on the other… they’re an inside joke between my hubby and I. Of course, once my blanket was done Momentarily Me loved the combination so much she added this little pink llama blanket as a permanent option to her shop. So y’all can buy my blanket if you want!
Get Your Own Weighted Blanket Here!
I think that’s pretty cool.
I was worried about purchasing such an important (read: expensive) item from a handmade shop… I love Etsy and buy handmade items all the time but I didn’t want to spend money on something just to have it fall apart in the first wash. I love that this blanket has double stitched edges and is super thick… you can feel the craftsmanship in the materials and quilting.
What are Weighted Blankets Filled With?
The blankets are weighted with virgin poly pellets which can be machine washed (yes I’ve done it, yes it turned out fine, yay!). Basically they’re little beads which give the blanket it’s weight. You can see how the blanket is sectioned into squares so that the beads stay distributed evenly throughout the blanket and don’t just allll fall to the bottom.
That would not be good!
I don’t know about all shops but Momentarily Me offers an upgrade to glass beads (which are still machine washable). They are suppose to stay a little more balanced in the little squares and not bunch up in the bottom of each corner. Gravity is still gravity though so while it may help it can’t completely fix the problem
I find that shaking the blanket out or smoothing the squares works just fine. If I were ordering a second blanket I would probably pick the glass bead option just to see if it was better but I love my blanket just fine with the poly pellets.
What Size Blanket Should I get?
The last factor was size… there are plenty of sizes to pick from but since I wanted mine for sleep it needed to be big enough to cover an adult. I ended up deciding on a twin blanket so that it was large enough to snuggle with on the couch, would work well for night time but wouldn’t quite cover the entire bed… sometimes I like to have one foot out for those in-between nights.
Since I have a queen sized bed the twin covers most of the top but doesn’t go off the edges. There’s about 8 inches of space on either side of the blanket if I place it directly in the middle of the bed… but it covers me with no problem. It’s large enough to cover me from my toes to my head… which is exactly what I wanted. I typically sleep with it pulled up to my chin.
While Momentarily Me doesn’t have a queen sized listing on her shop she’s great with custom orders and if I wanted a queen sized blanket I’m sure she could accommodate that. Keep in mind that these blankets are heavy. The recommended weight is about 10% of your body weight. I like a lot of pressure when I’m freaking the heck out so I bought a 20lb blanket.
When you’re laying down that weight is distributed over you and it’s wonderful… when you’re carrying the blanket from room to room (or holding it up for a picture) it’s hella heavy. But on the flip side despite the heaviness of carrying it around I actually packed the thing in it’s own suitcase to take on a cruise with my Mom last month.
If that’s not a testimony to how much I love this thing I’m not sure what is.
I hope this review helped you… I’m definitely a fan and am planning to order a smaller lap sized blanket that will be easier to travel with or sit with while I’m working in the near future. If you have more questions about weighted blankets leave them below and I will do my best to answer them. If you have one let me know how you like it!
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[…] for helping with insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks and as an added bonus it is absolutely beautiful. If you want to read the full review (with all the pros and cons) don’t worry… I’ve got you […]