Weighted blanket can be very useful. Who is the quilt for? First of all, for hyperactive children who have sleep problems, children with ADHD, children with sensory disorders, for children with autism, etc.
Where did the weighted blanket come from
Tina Champagne, a sensory integration therapist, conducted a study of the effects of quilts on a child’s sleep. The topic interested me the most, because as you know we have huge problems with it. Research has confirmed that using a quilt can affect sleep quality by pressing on the muscles, which causes the body to relax. It should be used 20 minutes before bedtime, e.g. lying with a child, which causes him / her to calm down, and then after sleeping, change to a lighter quilt. The child should not sleep under the quilt all night, use the quilt always when close to the child and do not allow it to cover the neck.
Is this weighted blanket intended only for children with ADHD? Of course not. Such a quilt has many advantages also for adults:
- The evenly distributed weight of the quilt affects deeply located parts of the body. Like a seasoned masseur, he relaxes with his touch, gently presses on joints and tendons. At the same time, deep pressure releases additional layers of so-called happiness hormones – serotonin and dopamine. Thanks to this, after a night under the comforter, we wake up relaxed and full of energy.
- You can not sleep? Do you fidget in bed counting rams for hours? The load quilt is great at dealing with this problem. For both adults and children, covering with a heavy duvet reduces the time of falling asleep by up to several minutes!
- Equally important, the quilt prevents frequent waking up from sleep, thus making us wake up really rested. This advantage is especially appreciated by parents of children who previously often moved to the adult bedroom at night. The therapeutic load, just like the touch of a magic wand, significantly limits children’s night wandering.
- What do we do when we break a knee, hit the shoulder, or when we have a stomach ache? We usually squeeze this place, try to massage it and thus minimize unpleasant feeling. The loading quilt works similarly. Evenly pressing on the whole body, soothes the pain at the points where it is accumulated. With its weight, it causes pain to spread over a larger area of the body, losing its strength.
- It is excellent help for people suffering from various types of pain.
Weighted blanket sewing instructions
- We take a large blanket and fold it in half.
- Sew two sides on one side, leaving open
- We create tunnels by stitching the blanket vertically.
- Pour a bit of filling into the tunnels. The filling can be beans, peas, mustard, aquarium litter and what else will come to mind. The filling quantity depends on the type. Quilts with beans or other beans cannot be washed.
- We stitch the horizontal lines – first row.
- Again, pour some filling and stitch, and so the next rows, until the end.
