"Can Weighted Blankets Really Help You Sleep Better?"
More Americans are embracing the use of weighted blankets, which first became popular to help children with sensory issues. The blankets, which can weigh up to 30 pounds, contain weighted beads or pellets to give them heft. They are marketed with claims that they create a calming, comforting effect that can lower stress and anxiety and improve sleep, even for people with insomnia. However, experts say good scientific research in the area is lacking. "We don't know for sure, from a robust scientific standpoint, but anecdotally and from smaller studies they do seem to help some patients," said Neomi Shah, MD, associate professor of medicine, pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Overall the safety profile seems to be OK, as long as we consider the proper use of the blanket. In children, being extra careful in terms of the size and the weight of the blanket and in adults, if they have any obvious lung diseases or neuromuscular chest wall disorders, I would just be cautious."
— Neomi A. Shah, MD, Associate Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Additional Coverage: WDEF; News Daily; WREG