The Australian Flinders University has conducted recent studies on the efficiency of weighted blankets as a non-pharmacological intervention in improving sleep quality and mental health well-being. Led by Dr Suzanne Dawson, the study considered 18 published works and showed promising results in relation to sleep, medication use, and mood improvements among adults.
Dr. Dawson noted that subjects using weighted blankets showed marked improvements in their sleep patterns, have lowered reliance upon sleep medications, and overall improvements in mood. “Weighted blankets appear to provide a feasible, non-pharmacological treatment for enhancing sleep quality, she said, pointing out benefits for individuals experiencing disruption of sleep.
However, its results were inconclusive compared to the others. The children and teenage review lacked stronger results. Variability is present with the results of this age group, therefore requiring individualized implementation of the weighted blanket intervention. The full review article can be accessed in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
The research yields a significant impact on public health policy. The conclusions already influence the state-wide protocols of using weighted blankets in mental health services across South Australia. Dr. Dawson also further proposed that there should be clear clinical guidelines to optimize the therapeutic use of these blankets, such as proper weight and safety measures, particularly regarding safety features concerning the ability of the user to remove the blanket independently.
Although the studies available are promising, however, the current corpus of literature is very limited. In this review, a number of studies were performed by the same research group, or they targeted only a selected population, which leaves an open question regarding its application in other contexts. Sleeping deprivation is an urgent matter, since one out of ten adults in Europe suffers from chronic insomnia, and this rate is higher in some countries, like Portugal, France, and Belgium.
Dr. Dawson brought up the importance of sleep for general health and how sleeping less than recommended has been correlated with a variety of unfavorable outcomes, including heightened risk factors for chronic diseases, like heart disease and mental illness. Thus, whereas this area of weighted blankets seems full of promise for additional study, it is equally crucial to conduct studies rigorously in order to establish optimal usage in both clinical populations and the general population.
