How can weighted blankets help with PTSD?

Weighted blankets are therapeutic blankets that can help people who are battling mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can disrupt your sleep, and a weighted blanket can help you get the rest you need.

What Is PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can arise after a traumatic event. When we’re in a distressing situation, our bodies have an automatic “fight or flight response” that protects us from possible harm. This response produces hormones that heighten stress levels, put us on high alert, and raise our blood pressure and heart rate.

While we can sometimes recover over time, PTSD is a condition that means trauma continues to affect us, long after the event has passed.

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What Are the Most Common Symptoms of PTSD?

PTSD symptoms can vary, but may include:

• Re-experiencing the trauma, having flashbacks or nightmares
• Trying to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the trauma
• Frequently feeling tense or on edge
• Having difficulty sleeping
• Feeling angry
• Memory problems
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Feeling depressed

How Can Weighted Blankets Help With PTSD?

Weighted blankets can help people living with PTSD by alleviating symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, feeling tense, and having difficulty concentrating. A weighted blanket is a therapeutic blanket that delivers a gentle, even weight all over the body. This practice is known as Deep Touch Pressure (DTP), and is the science behind the many proven weighted blanket benefits. It feels like a full-body hug, and can help people to relax into a deep sleep.

Some of the benefits of weighted blankets include:

• A sense of coziness and security
• Helps you fall asleep faster
• Eases feelings of stress and anxiety
• Promotes relaxation
• Improves sleep quality
• Helps relieve chronic pain

Benefits of Weighted Blankets for PTSD

There aren’t many scientific studies that have specifically investigated the benefits of weighted blankets for PTSD, but we do know that PTSD can cause sleep disruption, and that a weighted blanket can help with that.

Weighted blankets have shown sleep-improving benefits for people with mental health issues, and in treating insomnia. They can also help people with depression, generalized anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Weighted blankets can also help to promote calm and reduce anxiety for those living with PTSD. A study found that those who used a weighted blanket for 20 minutes a day for five months had reduced anxiety levels and lower heart rate pulse.

How Heavy Should a Weighted Blanket for PTSD Be?

To feel the full benefit of a weighted blanket, it’s important to choose your ideal weighted blanket weight. We recommend that your blanket should weigh 10% of your body weight to deliver the perfect amount of pressure.

Should You Use a Weighted Blanket for PTSD?

More PTSD-specific studies are needed to fully understand the benefits of weighted blankets for this condition. However, weighted blankets have been proven to relieve related symptoms, such as anxiety and poor sleep quality. At the same time, improved sleep can improve your mood and reduce PTSD symptoms. In short: we think a weighted blanket is probably worth a try!

In Brief

If you're struggling with PTSD or other mental health problems that affect your sleep, a weighted blanket can help ease symptoms like excessive fatigue and extreme alertness.