Tuesday, June 11, 2019

YnM Weighted Blanket Helped Rewire My Anxious Brain

For a long time I have struggled with sleep problems. It’s common for middle-aged adults to wake up two or three times a night. But for me, I wake up 10 times a night.
Sleep problems can also cause anxiety, too. For me, a bad night’s sleep exacerbates my anxiety.  There’s a lot of scientific evidence showing that anxiety and sleep are closely connected. I often sleep better on days when my anxiety is at bay. When I’m ruminating on something, or several things, I tend to wake up more often or it takes longer to get back to sleep.

At times, I’ve gotten a feeling of crushing fear that occurs even in situations that most people consider to be safe. Until my boyfriend brought home this  15 pounds YnM Weighted Blanket, I thought I’d spend the end of every day attempting to get a grip on my anxiety.

What is a weighted blanket?

Weighted blankets are not like the kinds of blankets we usually use. They typically weigh anywhere from 4 to 30 pounds, making them heavier than the average comforter or down quilt. Weighted blankets is a sleep product came from the theory called Deep pressure touch stimulation (or DPTS). This is a type of therapy that almost anyone can benefit from. Similar to getting a massage, pressure exerted over the body has physical and psychological advantages.

A weighted blanket molds to your body like a warm hug. The pressure also helps relax the nervous system. It’s a totally safe and effective non-drug therapy for sleep and relaxation naturally. Psychiatric, trauma, geriatric, and pediatric hospital units use weighted blankets to calm a patient’s anxiety and promote deep, restful sleep. In a similar way to swaddling comforting an infant, the weight and pressure on an adult provides comfort and relief. When pressure is gently applied to the body, it encourages serotonin production, which lifts your mood. When serotonin naturally converts to melatonin, your body takes the cue to rest.

YnM weighted blanket 2.0 

My boyfriend bought me a YnM weighted Blanket 2.0(YnM 2.0) on Amazon as a birthday gift a couple of months ago. He told me that weighted blankets are the hottest sleep products nowadays which will be very helpful to ease my anxiety. 

YnM 2.0 is made from high-quality cotton and weighted with glass beads, this therapeutic blanket is specifically engineered to create a cocoon-like environment while you're sleeping. My boyfriend thought YnM 2.0 is the best weighted blanket after his long time searching & comparing on Amazon.

When you decide to invest in a weighted blanket, please make sure to choose one with the right weight. Your own weight helps you determine the right weight of a blanket. Some manufacturers recommend that adults buy a blanket that’s about 10 percent of their body weight. Accordingly, my boyfriend gave me a YnM weighted blanket with the size 48”x72”  and the weight 15 pounds, perfectly fit my body.

YnM is the one of the best sellers on Amazon, known for best price and high quality, the price of the YnM Weighted Blanket 2.0 is only US$75. That is why YnM can get 4.5 out of 5 with over 3000 reviews. In addition, despite being significantly heavier than most blankets, YnM 2.0 is not a pain to clean as it is completely machine washable.

My experience

From the moment I was under the blanket, I felt my heartbeat slow and my brain ease on the gas pedal. Imagine this: it’s a cold morning and you’re awake before your alarm. Your bed is freezing cold, except for the part where you slept, an invisible boundary of heat. You feel heavy and warm and contained. That’s what this blanket feels like, except no matter how many times you change positions, that feeling stays with you. It’s like laying under a pile of freshly dried laundry, like a hug that never gets awkward now matter how long you hold on.

Weighted blankets have been around for a while and the idea is the same across the board: sewn-in compartments are filled with a weighted material (glass beads). It’s as simple as approximating 10% of your body weight to find the correct size blanket. My only gripe would be that if you’re someone who moves around a lot at night, don’t sleep with it. You don’t want to attempt to move 15 pounds of glass beads while half asleep.

There are studies that back up why weighted blanket works, but all I really know is that it worked, immediately, for me. To anyone that just needs an extra dose of calm when they’re winding down, invest in a weighted blanket.

No comments: