Can Weighted Blankets Help Reduce Stress and Anxiety?

The increasingly modern busy life has its own benefits, but stress and anxiety are part and parcel of this life. Most adults forget what sound and peaceful sleep look like as stress and anxiety do not leave them unattended. There are rarely a few who go to bed with peace of mind, but most are accompanied by stress and anxiety. For them, the ultimate solution, indeed, is weighted blankets for adults. These are also known as therapeutic blankets weighing between 10 to 20 pounds. Their pressure performs a therapeutic effect known as deep pressure stimulation, which helps relieve pain and stress, reduce anxiety, and enhance mood.

It has been proven through several researches in the past that pressure stimulation reduces autonomic arousal, which actually causes anxiety. Investigators have found in the above study that 33 percent of the stress of 33 people reduced by using these blankets. It is also helpful in recovering from insomnia, sleep disorder, and chronic pain. These blankets may carry health benefits, too. It is best to choose a blanket made of natural fiber, such as 100% cotton. The other blankets made of polyester are typically much hotter.

benefits of weighted blanket

Working

These blankets have a weight that gives relaxing pressure; as mentioned above, the swaddling, snuggling effect provides a soothing feeling while sleeping. These blankets help you in many ways. Let’s have a look at a few:

1. Better sleep

As these blankets have weight, the pressure these blankets will exert may generate nervous system responses that help in reducing your heart rate when you have anxiety issues. This may result in better sleep.

2. Activate natural chemicals – oxytocin and serotonin

Pressure may help the body release the chemical oxytocin, which may improve your immune system response, ease pain and stress, and help you sleep.

The pressure can make your brain ready to release a serotonin chemical, which calms your brain and body because serotonin helps keep food fresh and helps deep sleep.

3. Sensory healing

These blankets may help some people with autism spectrum disorder which is overstimulated by their noise. The pressure of a blanket may help them in taking rest.

Where to Get One

Weighted blankets are sold at department stores, drugstores, or online like on Amazon. Weighted blankets are not economical. They often cost between $65 and $200.

Are They Worth Buying?

There’s no concrete proof that these blankets cope with stress and anxiety in adults, but sales of these blankets have soared over the last two years which can help us conclude that it indeed has health benefits.

sleep-improvement-guide

These blankets are the best therapy available at home because it gives benefits like deep pressure therapy. These prove helpful in several conditions such as anxiety and stress, leading to different sleeping disorders if you want to choose one for your family and yourself. Go for the soft option that must be the snug size and is about 9 percent of the weight of your body.

Pay attention to the Instructions

Read the instructions properly for washing. Try to wash at home. Make sure the fabric is soft, and you are comfortable with how much it weighs. Because feeling too hot or trapped by the blanket’s weight will not be suitable for you.

To conclude, a weighted blanket’s pressure creates a soothing effect that helps to sleep better. This makes an anxious person enjoy deep sleep and also helps in reducing pain, stress, and anxiety. People suffering from several painful diseases relax with a weighted blanket. This is an excellent alternative to have sleeping pills at night.

7 Ways to Live a Stress-Free Life in College

Everybody knows that college is not just about long lessons, wise teachers and interesting acquaintances. Sometimes it’s get harder to be in a harmonious and amicable mood when everything starts to fall apart, and students are trying to fix it but at the same time making the situation much worse.

The most common reasons of stress in college are as follows:

  • Different conflict situations with teachers and other students;
  • Huge lack of sleep and ineptitude to manage time;
  • Getting low grades and not completed homework and tasks;
  • Fears of the unknown and uncertain future;
  • Large amount of educational materials to study;
  • Difference between expectations and reality of chosen profession;
  • Intensive mental activity with a huge quantity of information.
  • Environmental crisis

There are some ways and tips how to live without stress at college, which can help you tackle with stressful situations by yourself.

1. Think about your time management

Try to do all the complicated lessons first and don’t leave your homework until midnight. Start with compiling a task list every week. Write down at least three important, short-term goals that you want to achieve. No matter what kind of your goals are, stick to them and do your best to achieve them! You can do more and you will feel better without delaying things “later”. Make small changes in your life and self-organization —find a place for each thing. Self-pity is a waste of time.

2. Acquire colorful and bright stationery

It will always make you smile in any way. Notebooks with your favorite flowers or animals will bring you peaceful mood and it will help you to be concentrated on pleasant thoughts. Buy some nice pens, pencils and other stationery and you will feel the difference and motivation to do something with these cute things.

3. Eat only healthy and wholesome food

“We literally are what we eat”, says chief editor at Pro-Papers. If you feel stressed, instead of reaching a pack of biscuits or the nearest fast-food chain restaurant, try to eat something healthy and it will help you manage the stress.

For example, avocado and bananas are loaded with potassium, a vital mineral which can keep blood pressure within normal parameters. Feeling low? Eat some almonds, pistachios or walnuts and your immune system will be boosted by vitamins and zinc!

4. Sleep well, at least 8 hours per night

Lack of sleep can cause bad mood, concentration problems and a general severe fatigue. It also affects our ability to perceive and memorize information, which can cause a strong stress when you have to learn a lot. If you have good sleep, it increases your attention, self-confidence, memory, social skills, and appetite. Use a weighted blanket in order to reduce stress and anxiety.

5. Think of your new hobbies

Do you know the best way to put an end to all the stressful situations? Knitting and painting increases the activity of the prefrontal cortex and improve your creativity skills. Scientists have found that gardening improves mental health and physical health, as well as reduced levels of depression.

Cooking is a rather meditative exercise and a great way to deal with stress. Everything that you need to do — is to find your own hobby and get the benefits from it!

Also Read: Factors to Consider Before Scheduling Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy

6. Listening to peaceful music

Music not only affects our mood, but also inspires, relieves stress, calms and even heals. Gentle music with a harmonic tune will help reduce the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes damage to our mind and body. Just turn on the new album of your favorite band and start relaxing after nervous day at college.

7. Go to shopping

Sometimes all we need to feel happy is a new dress or new sneakers, isn’t it? According to psychologists, shopping is one of the most effective ways to help relieve depression.

The main thing is not to get nervous about some little things. It’s undeniable that these little things cause a serious stressful condition which is too destructive for our nervous system and mental health. Avoid contact with people who are sources of negative emotions, thoughts, moods. If you think, “I will never finish on time,” stop thinking that way. Better imagine your success — visualize how you will feel, shaking the hand of your professor, how he says that you have done a great and important job.

Your hard work will pay off as soon as you leave the tears and regrets behind you. Do not accumulate anger and negative, make a decision, shake off the burden of negative emotions and go on. When you arrange your priorities properly, you will become more organized and have your stress relieved by focusing more on your success. Only then, you are likely to become a confident student for whom studying is just a piece of cake.