The Best Weighted Blankets Make Falling Asleep as Easy as Sinking in Quicksand
This article was first published in GQ on March 31, 2020.
Even if you've braced yourself for their limb-pinning heft, the first time you slip under one of the best weighted blankets is a bit of a surprise. Even the weighted smock of your once-annual dental x-rays can not prepare you for their enveloping, heavy embrace. These blankets, typically filled with plastic or glass beads, have a way of physically pinning you down. You might be inclined to react by writhing around a bit, just to make sure you still can. But as you give in to the weight, sinking deeper into your bed or your couch than you've ever felt possible, you'll find yourself reaching heretofore unimaginable levels of serenity and coziness. Don’t take our word for it. Pretty much every online review of a weighted blanket is laced with superlatives: “I have never slept so deeply in my life.” “It felt like I was getting a hug all night long.” “You feel so snug, like a little nut wrapped up.”Like "a little nut wrapped up!" What more could you ask for?
Weighted blankets were initially developed to help soothe and provide a better night’s sleep to people suffering from PTSD or high anxiety. Their effectiveness in these areas remains wholly unconfirmed, in large part because it’s difficult to control for variables around anxiety and PTSD (and also because double blinds are hard to pull off when any tester can immediately tell whether a blanket is conventional or heavy). Still, the anecdotal evidence lauding the comfort-enhancing and anxiety-reducing power of these blankets abounds. And our testers here at GQ were all fans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the best weighted blankets checked all the boxes of a great normal blanket. They’re big enough to cover you, soft enough to swaddled in, and breathable enough that you won't immediately overheat.
The only other variable you have to consider is the actual weight of the blanket. As a rule of thumb, most makers suggest you don’t use a blanket that’s heavier than 10 percent of your body weight. This recommendation should be taken really seriously if you’re considering giving a weighted blanket to a child (they should never be given to a baby or small toddler), who might not have the strength to wriggle themselves free from under one. For most able-bodied adults, the weight you choose will come down to personal preference. If you’re looking for a blanket for your couch or want to be able to get up from bed easily in the middle of the night, consider a lighter weight. If you don’t mind having to work a bit harder to get out from under your sheets in the morning, you can try something heavier.
With all these criteria in mind, we tested a wide range of weighted blankets. Some were covered in coarse textured fabrics, others were smooth. Some were throw blankets, others were comforters, but we made sure to attempt a full night of sleep under each at least one. Below are the ones we kept, er, gravitating towards. They’re the best weighted blankets we’ve found.
Helix Weighted Blanket:
The Best Overall Weighted Blanket
Considering that the company makes our favorite overall mattress, it's no surprise that Helix's weighted blanket is the closest thing to a jack-of-all trades we've found, largely thanks to its double-sided cover. One side is made with smooth fleece, but the other is a more textured shearling, like that on your favorite fleece jacket. Either side is super cozy, but having the ability to switch between both sides makes using the blanket a kind of choose-your-own adventure in comfort. The glass-bead-filled Helix works as a permanent couch blanket or as a transitional blanket for your bed in the spring and fall. The blanket only comes in one size—big enough to serve as a blanket for your full sized bed, but not so big that it would be ridiculous as a throw—and three weights (10 lbs, 15 lbs, or 20 lbs).
© Helix Sleep. All Rights Reserved 2020
© Helix Sleep. All Rights Reserved 2020
