I Tried A Weighted Blanket For An Entire Workweek To See If It Would Make Me Less Anxious

Weighted blankets have long been used for physical therapy and comfort by those with disabilities, according The Atlantic, which published a 2018 article detailing the blanket’s sudden trendiness. Though several small companies had been selling weighted blankets to the public for years, everything changed when the Gravity Blanket (which costs a whopping $249) launched its Kickstarter campaign back in 2017. Thrive Global reports that Gravity Blanket raised $4,729,263 with the promise of using “the power of ‘deep touch pressure stimulation’ to simulate the feeling of being held or hugged,” according to their website. Gravity Blanket states that this hug-like pressure will trigger your natural calming hormones (melatonin and serotonin) to be released while making your stress hormone (cortisol) take a hike.

As someone who copes with anxiety that occasionally prevents me from getting the recommended amount of sleep, I’ve always been intrigued by the promises of a weighted blanket.

So, when I came across the ZonLi Weighted Blanket — which has 4.5 stars and over 2,000 customer reviews on Amazon — I reached out to the company to see if  they’d be willing to send me one to try out. “Crafted with people with stress/insomnia and other sleep-related struggles in mind, The ZonLi is made of natural and environmental material, both glass beads and fabric, and the hypo-allergenic, non-toxic, odorless glass beads are evenly sewed into ultra small squares to make the blanket more comfortable,” reads the product description they sent me.

Plus, the best part is that, depending on what size you buy, this blanket is much more affordable with prices starting at $49.90.

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So, for an entire workweek straight, I decided to give the weighted blanket a try. I wanted to see if it would help me cope with my daily anxiety and thus help me sleep better as I attempt to push my way through the workweek.

Day 1

I picked the perfect week to give this blanket a try because my boss is out of town. In other words, me and my fellow senior editor are taking over, so it promises to be a week filled with challenges.

And yes, stress.

After running into a few obstacles along the way, Day 1 ended up being slightly stressful, so I immediately rushed home, laid down on the couch, and draped the weighted blanket over my body. At first, it gave me a weird feeling that I wasn’t used to. But I was finally able to put my finger on it after a few minutes and realized that the feeling was one of relaxation. I’d been so tense all day that I hadn’t even noticed how it was affecting my body. While lying under the weighted blanket, I noticed that my shoulders were slowly melting into the couch as my jaw relaxed.

The rest of my body followed and within 20 minutes, I fell asleep.

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After I woke up from my nap, I showered, ate dinner, watched a bit of TV, and hopped right into bed with my new blanket. I fell asleep within minutes and had a delicious night’s sleep. I woke up the next day feeling more refreshed and ready to conquer whatever obstacles came my way.

Day 2

I was feeling a bit better at the start of the day, but my anxiety ended up getting the best of me. However, when I got home at the end of the day, I didn’t need to nap, so I instead decided to see what it would be like using the blanket in a different position. Sitting upright on the couch, with half of the blanket tucked under my legs, I began reading a book. Unlike the day before, I didn’t feel so relaxed that I needed to take a nap. Instead, I felt comforted and calm with the blanket putting pressure on only the bottom half of my body.

This helped the rest of me relax as well, but not quite to the point where I fell asleep.

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When I was getting into bed that night, I was worried about using the blanket because of the heat wave we’ve been experiencing in Southern California.

However, the blanket does say that it has cooling properties, so I thought I’d test it out. And for the most part, the blanket did a great job at helping me stay sweat-free. I had a bit of perspiration under my arms, but I’d say that’s to be expected during a California heat wave — no matter what blanket you’re using. Overall, I was pretty impressed.

Day 3

Again, I had a hectic day, but instead of using the weighted blanket right when I got home, I decided to incorporate it into my nightly TV-watching routine to see if it would help me wind down before bed. Sometimes, when I watch TV, it takes my brain a while to stop spinning enough for sleep, so I wanted to see if the blanket would help with this.

I actually ended up sharing it with my boyfriend, so we could both enjoy its calming effects.

Afterward, it only took us each a few minutes to fall asleep and we had a great night’s sleep with no interruptions. Though, this time, I didn’t fall asleep with the weighted blanket on me, just because it was too hot for any type of blanket, weighted or not.

Day 4

Once I got home from work, I made the mistake of trying to walk around my house with the blanket draped over my shoulders. When they say it’s weighted, they mean it! It did feel nice having something hugging me while walking around the house, though, and trying to unwind after a long day.

Again, I made the mistake of fully lying down with my weighted blanket and instantly fell asleep. But hey, my body clearly needed it and my weighted blanket helped it get where it needed to go! Although, it was really hard waking up from my nap with the blanket cocooning my body.

I’d recommend using this product wisely, and preferably when you don’t have anything else to do.

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Since it wasn’t as hot out that night, I was able to use the weighted blanket to help me fall asleep. Nothing new to report here. It was another really good night’s sleep for me.

Day 5

I thought about bringing the weighted blanket to work on Day 5, but based on what happened thus far, I was worried it would make me fall asleep at my desk. Anyway, at this point, it had become a nice post-work relaxation treat. I’d get home, wash up, and wrap myself in the blanket to unwind and relax my tense muscles. It was only difficult when I was in a state in which I could easily fall asleep, which is exactly what I allowed myself to do on this particular Friday.

After a long week, nothing feels better than taking a well-deserved nap while wrapped inside a blanket designed to keep you cozy.

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Though it was a bit toasty that night, I decided to use the weighted blanket to help me sleep and woke up with no perspiration. The fabric felt cooling on my skin and wasn’t scratchy or anything.

Overall Thoughts

I will definitely continue using my weighted blanket, and also want to buy one for my boyfriend. Instead of trying to relax by scrolling through Instagram or eating junk food right when I get home, I wrap myself in my weighted blanket for some much-needed comfort. It’s a great form of self-care that reminds you to pay attention to where you’re tense and why you’re stressed. I can see why they are so popular.

However, I did have to be careful about when and how I used the blanket — or else I’d fall asleep before bedtime.

It was great for when I wanted to take a planned nap, but also good for bedtime when I needed some help relaxing. I appreciated that it was cooling on night’s when it was warm, so that I didn’t end up sweating all over my bed.

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However, I don’t think I’d feel comfortable paying over $200 for a weighted blanket, which is why I think this particular ZonLi blanket is a great option (especially if you have Amazon Prime). There’s no need to stress yourself out buying something expensive that’s meant to help you with said stress!