Weighted Blanket... Does It Work?
This week in our house we tried something new. Actually we tried two new things, speaking to a therapist and we tried a weighted blanket for our middle child. Both of our kids suffer from General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), however our middle child (he’s 8) struggles much more than our eldest. Night times are the worst with falling asleep and then staying asleep. I’d read a lot recently, and heard a lot recently, about weighted blankets supporting kids and adults with anxiety to sleep better. This past week we tried it out.
Weighted Blankets and How They Work
Weighted blankets are becoming more and more popular as a possible solution for those who are struggling with anxiety and other conditions that effect the nervous system. Generally blankets come in weights between 5 and 30 lbs depending on the weight of the person intending to use the blanket. When sleeping under a weighted blanket the body feels the pressure throughout the body helping the individual to feel a sense of calm. Some people describe the feeling of being hugged, wrapped or swaddled using a type of pressure therapy to help support the calm. Often this type of blanket is used for children with ADHD, anxiety, Autism and/or anxiety.
In our case we used the blanket to help support one of our kids who struggles with anxiety, ADHD and learning disability. Check out my blog post And the Verdict is??? to read about some of my child’s story. Since he was very young sleeping has been an issue. As an infant he struggled to fall asleep, needing to be help or bounced in order to sleep. I can remember spending hours shushing him, using white noise and trying ever swaddle system out there to try and get a good night sleep. At 18 months when he still wasn’t sleeping we connected with sleep consultant. She had us stop going to his room to settle him and instead my husband and I rotated sleeping on the floor outside his room shushing and reassuring him that he was safe, warm and loved. All this from the hallway outside his door.
Getting kids to sleep who are anxious, have ADHD or Autism can be a challenge.
We did get through that stage and although he did eventually “learn” to sleep, it’s never been easy. He’s often afraid if we turn out the light, can be woken easily by noises and more often then not, he tosses and turns until well after 11 when my husband I go to bed. Most mornings getting him going for school at 7 A.M. is a challenge to put it kindly. He’s tired, irritable and just wants to sleep, which when you’re 8 and not falling asleep till 11 is tough. Then add to that him not often sleeping through the night STILL he’s just plain tired and I can’t blame him.
So last week I bit the bullet and ordered from Amazon the HBlife Weighted Blanket (10 lbs, 41''x60'') for Kids 80-110 lbs| 2.0 Cool Heavy Blanket| 100% Cotton Material with Glass Beads | Enjoy Natural Deep Sl. It came fairly quickly and at first I wasn’t sure if my son would be up for giving a go. Once I explained that the hope was it would support his sleep needs he seemed up for it. So on his bed it went. I was surprised that it did not fit from end to end on his bed, but rather fit just him on the bed. Night one went really well and by 9:30 that night when I went to bed he was out cold! It seemed to be working.
So since that first night…. It’s gone better, but not perfect. When I go to bed around 10 he’s still awake but as soon as I put the blanket over him he yawns and I can see him physically relax with it. For now our struggle is once we tuck him into bed, betting him to stay there. He tends to get up several times and use the bathroom, go to his brothers room or come down and get something to eat.
This week we are seeing two different people to get support. The first medical visit this week is with an occupational therapist here in Toronto at The Red Oak Center as well as a sleep doctor at the Youthdale Clinic in downtown Toronto. All of this in hopes of continuing to support his sleep to build his sleep habits and help to support his emotional needs during the day.
This is my son’s double bed. You’ll see the blanket doesn’t fit side to side, but rather fits just the person.
So Did It Work?
We haven’t just tried the blanket. We’ve tried using essential oils, no screen time before bed, baths to calm down, giving time for exercise before bed, and snuggling and reading stories. Nothing has worked in the long run. The weighted blanket has helped some what for sure this week. It’s had a more positive result then most of our other attempts. As parents we try to find solutions to help our kids, we wont stop till we’ve turned over stone.
I’ll keep you all updated on the next few weeks and how things are going. There is never one fit that works for all our kids with challenges but we keep trying till we find the combination that works to support our families and children be successful. For now finding a good sleep solution I think will go a long way to helping support our son to feel better daily.
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