Does a weighted blanket help you sleep better? Mr H has written about the one I bought him for Christmas last year.

As we head towards Christmas, I think of the gift Mrs H got me last year. Now I’m not a fussy person to buy for, but I don’t suppose that makes it any easier. But anyway, in the run-up, a present appeared under the tree. It was a good size and I thought, that’s a very similar size to a PS5 (yes, I’m 40 odd years old and still playing video games… I watch cartoons too!).

I’m not one of these people that likes to take things any further with guessing, other than a sneaky look at the name on the tag. Unlike Mrs H who likes to give it a good shake and feel, so I had nothing more to go on other than to let my mind wander based on the size and shape.

Whizz forward to Christmas Day and as always, I do the honours with handing out the presents to the kids, leaving mine to last. The present in question was situated strategically behind the tree so I had to lean around the ridiculously wide tree to get to it. As soon as I went to lift the present, I knew this was not anything that my imagination had envisioned. Firstly, it weighed a tonne and felt weirdly solid. I started to think weights or something, a subtle hint to shed the muffin top, ey Mrs H?

After breaking my back getting this gigantic paperweight into the centre of the room, I peeled back the paper to reveal… a blanket! Yes, a blanket. I’m not sure I managed to hide my confusion and disappointment that it wasn’t a PS5, even though that dream was dashed the minute I got my first hernia lifting the bloody thing out from behind the tree.

Does a weighted blanket help you sleep better?

Mrs H piped up and mentioned this it’s not just your average blanket, it’s a weighted blanket to help people that have trouble sleeping…

I’ve always been a very light sleeper, so much so, that the kids think I never sleep as when they come into the room I’m always straight up and asking if they’re ok. I do also suffer from atopic eczema, so I am very restless at night.

The idea is that the blanket makes you feel like you’re being swaddled (like a baby I guess) or cuddled and with the weight, it helps to limit restless movement that can keep you up at night.

Once I got over the shock of my wife buying me a blanket for Christmas – which took about a month. I thought I’d give it a go. After all, she was being very thoughtful, and I was struggling with tiredness.

Trying the Weighted Blanket

As I got into bed with the blanket on, it felt heavy, very heavy compared to a duvet and I was concerned with getting over hot as this would aggravate my eczema. Mrs H reassured me that it’s made in a way for this not to happen, so I settled down to give it a go.

Let’s start with the bad, which is the fact I can’t give you an account of my thoughts through the night. The good news is, that’s because I slept through the night. So does a weighted blanket help you sleep better? Surprisingly it did work. I didn’t get hot, I don’t recall tossing and turning and when I woke in the morning, I felt rested.

The following nights were the same. I didn’t get hot and I slept well. Since then, I’ve used the blanket every night for the past 10 months and it’s continued to help. Obviously, like everyone else, I have the odd sleepless night when my mind is racing, but other than that it’s made a huge difference for the better.

The only drawback is the weight, when you do change sleeping positions it can be an effort pulling it up, and making the bed requires a bit more effort. But I’d rather this and sleep well than go back to restless nights. I’m still a light sleeper but that’s just me.

So, with Christmas approaching and if you’re looking for something to buy a loved one. Don’t buy this. It’s a great idea and I highly recommend it, but it’s a kick in the nuts when you open it and no matter how brilliant it may be, Christmas Day will seem more like a wet blanket after you give someone this. I would recommend buying this for them any time other than Christmas and that includes Birthdays too!

The weighted blanket I have is from Aeyla who have won a number of awards. They’re currently doing some great Black Friday deals and offer a 30-night trial too.

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