An Assessment of the Weighted Blanket Issue.

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I wanted to offer my own advice about weighted blankets as someone who has actually made their own.

First, weigh the blankets you normally sleep under. Best way is to weigh yourself. Then pick up all the blankets and get on the scale (you might need someone handy to actually read the darn number though!). Subtract the numbers and that's how much weight you are sleeping under at present.

I was sleeping under 15.5lbs, plus a sheet and another blanket that I ALWAYS sleep under. That's probably around 18lbs. Plus I wanted to add at least one more light blanket, because I felt like I needed just a little more weight. But when making my blanket, I didn't want something too bulky and I wanted to be able to add to it in the winter. I stuck with making a 12.5lb blanket

In preparation for making my blanket, I bought some poly beans (available at Michaels for $6 per 2lb bag...I bought 4 bags) and 5 yds of fleece ($3.99/yard at Joanne's...make sure it's around 58" wide though for a queen sized mattress). When completed, my weighted blanket was 12.5lbs and 60"x80", which is almost the exact size of the top of my Queen-sized mattress. I put this on top of my bed over the sheet and blanket.

It feels a little light. If you've done the math, you'll notice that there's a few pounds missing. I can put a small blanket on top of that, and it's fine. If I want a little more warmth, since it's winter and chilly, putting a thicker blanket on top means more weight. The blanket I like is 5lbs. It feels too heavy. I can feel that it's a little difficult to breathe.

I'm sure that part of the issue is that one of the blankets I had was a comforter and hung over the edge of my bed. As such, I'm guessing that it distributed the weight over a larger surface area. You need to take into consideration how large the blakents are that you have piled up on your bed. This means the weight you would want for your blanket could be less than what you weighed. Before you order a blanket, find as many blankets as you can that are the same dimensions as the blanket you are buying as a test! Don't put them on top of a larger blanket or you'll be off in the weight.

If you are sleeping under less than 10lbs of blankets right now, I would wager that it is NOT WORTH IT to buy a weighted blanket (unless perhaps you are an adult and sleep on a twin sized bed). You can easily just buy a comforter and a heavy blanket and you could be there easy. The average full/queen sized comforter (at least mine) weighs about 6lbs. My thickest blanket (Mexican blanket, half an inch thick) weighs 5lbs and is the size of my queen sized mattress. If that's too much warmth for you, then you may want to make a blanket yourself with fleece (or a weighted sheet?) so it won't be so thick, instead of buying one. I don't know how thick those are. Also, if your blankets weight less than 10lbs and hang over the edge, you aren't sleeping under 10lbs anyway. It's not worth it.

If you are sleeping over 15lbs, I'd recommend making one (or buying one if you can't sew and don't know anyone that has a sewing machine). The one I made isn't cute, but it serves it's purpose. I made it in a few evenings for less than $50. It was a b***h to make, but so worth it now that I don't have itchy blankets on top of me and I don't have to turn the heat off and have my fan on just so I don't over heat under them. The fleece also makes it very soft. The only drawback is that I can feel the poly beads in the blanket. Not that big of a deal though.

I would also add that I prefer the feel of many blankets on top of me to the weighed blanket. But as I listed above, there are problems with that. Especially trying to have all that on top of you during summer and having problems getting out of bed because your place is freezing because you didn't turn on the heat so you wouldn't overheat and wake up a billion times during the night. Gah...

I'm in Hawaii, and it's damned hot at night.

My AC isn't good enough to blast, so I'm looking for a heavy blanket that isn't too hot. Like the lead shields they put on you when you get X-Rayed, I love love love that sensation.

I have to have the comforter on the bed, even in the summer. It doesn't have to be all that heavy, just bulky. I sleep badly with just a sheet or light blanket.

A weighted blanket would probably do wonders for my insomnia. I'll have to consider improvising one during the winter season.