Try this Highly Effective Tool for Managing Insomnia

DISCLAIMER: The following blog post is my opinion alone and is for entertainment purposes only. Furthermore, I am not a physician. Please talk with your doctor before stopping or starting any medication.  This post also uses affiliate links which means I get a commission for selling this product at no additional cost to you.  I only recommend products that I use and love! You can read my full disclosure here. 

Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? Do you rely on such and such PM or Melatonin to help you drift off to dreamland? If you’re like me and have anxiety that gets worse at night, falling and staying asleep can be a struggle. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post on “10 Ways to Cope with Anxiety” (here). This particular tool didn’t make the list because I recently found out about it. Read on to discover this highly effective tool for managing insomnia (and anxiety, too!)

The tool I’m going to share with you is cheaper than a doctor’s visit. This tool can be used day or night and has zero side effects. What is this tool to managing Insomnia that I must try, you ask? It is a weighted blanket.

How it All Started

Lately, there has been a lot of hype over weighted blankets. People have said that they can help with anything from insomnia and anxiety to chronic pain. I first learned about weighted blankets when a kind individual made a small one for my brother who has autism. The weighted blanket helped to improve his mood, but I never thought about it as a tool to managing insomnia.

There was a twin size, 5lb blanket (brand new)  on an online yard sale for $34 and I figured, it can’t hurt anything, and what if it helps? Some websites recommend that a 130-170lb individual get at least a 15lb blanket so I was concerned that at just 5lbs, the blanket would not be enough. I tried it the first night, and I was truly amazed.

The Benefits of a Weighted Blanket

Normally, it can take me up to 3 hours of laying in bed to finally fall asleep. With the blanket on top of me, I felt safe and secure and was able to fall asleep within the hour.

I’m the kind of individual who has nightmares almost on a nightly basis. While I still have nightmares (I don’t believe a blanket can change the dreams your mind comes up with) that wake me up, I am able to calm down much faster and fall back asleep much sooner with the blanket.

Another benefit I have found is zero muscle twitching/jerking. For some reason, my body jerks periodically throughout the night for a couple of minutes at a time (not sure if that is a symptom of my Rheumatoid Arthritis or not). With the weight of the blanket on me each night, I have not experienced any jerking of my body in the last week.

Conclusion

I found a weighted blanket for myself at a price I could afford on my shoestring budget. Five pounds feels like plenty of weight for me so I am curious about a fifteen pound blanket. Right now, it is cold during the night so I’d like to know if it’ll feel cool in the summer.

If you have insomnia or anxiety, I would recommend you give a weighted blanket a try. Those of you who have one, comment below with your thoughts, and ways that it helps you.

If you don’t have one yet but want to try one, comment below with the things that are stopping you from giving it a go (maybe someone can answer your questions or provide some feedback for your concerns so that you feel confident in trying one out).

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