Let Your Weighted Blanket Heals You

October 2nd, 2020 Posted by Ece A.

 

 

 

What is Anxiety?

While stress can be beneficial as it can help to energize and motivate you to accomplish tasks and goals at a reasonable level, it can be more than an innocent triggering factor!

Anxiety is a universal terminology used for a wide variety of disorders that cause discomfort, nervousness, uncertainty, and panic about something excessively. These conditions necessarily affect how we feel and function, and they can manifest real physical symptoms. Mild anxiety is a little confusing and disturbing, whereas extreme levels of anxiety can be psychologically destructive and have a huge impact on daily life. In a nutshell, anxiety is the feeling of fear or panic for no reason. Most people feel anxious, panicky or fearful about situations such as financial status, business, family or education life.

You could imagine anxiety as an iceberg. Behaviors and actions of us such as anger, sleep problems, lack of concentration, overplanning, defiance, avoidance and constant negativity are just the tip of the iceberg. On the unseen part of that iceberg, there are feelings like loneliness, tiredness, grief, rejected sad, uncomfortable, regret, sorrow, insecureness, helplessness, embarrassed, depressed, being stuck, jealousy, being disrespected, disgusted, overwhelmed, ashamed and offended, etc., which those behaviors make us feel much more.

 

 

3W: Worries, What-ifs, and Worst-case Scenarios: These are closely linked to anxiety that places the worst-case scenarios in our thoughts, effectively capturing us.

Depression: Your risk of depression may increase with chronic anxiety. Symptoms are including social withdrawal, isolation, lack of interest in things that you enjoyed before and feelings of hopelessness and guilt for no reason.

Fear: Fear is a big part of anxiety. Anxiety targets what is valuable to you and makes you afraid to lose it.

Sense of Doom: Anxiety can trigger repetitive negative emotions of impending doom such as ‘death’. You could have some trouble focusing as well.

Self-doubt: Anxiety bringing us in a self-query for no reason. When self-doubt begins to manipulate you, anxiety is what leads it to develop and take over how we see ourselves.

Panic attacks: A wide variety of physical symptoms may arise from panic attacks in anxiety, including cardiovascular problems, chest pain and lightheadedness. You may even perspire more and feel warmer than usual, particularly the back of your neck.

Abnormally Heart Rate (Tachycardia):  Rhythm disturbances occur with panic attacks, but they can also happen with anxiety more generally. You can notice that your pulse quickens in speed and intensity.

Constant Headaches: Constant worry and tension headaches are widespread.

Irritability: Your overall feelings of irritability may increase due to nonstop worry.

 

Overcome Your Anxiety Using These Methods!

Get caught up in an Audiobook or a Podcast: Listening to a voice narrating a story could help you to ease by relieving your brain and body. Indeed, what is better than having someone telling a story to you?

Challenge with Sudoku or any Mind Exercise: Questioning your brain helps you to keep any kind of toxic though away from what causes anxiety at that moment. Puzzles are a good way of keeping your brain cells balanced too. Win-win!

Astonish Your Senses: Drinking something extremely hot and cold can distract your senses. Even though it is going to be temporary, hot chocolate or cold coffee can be really good for your mood as well. You can produce serotonin for a little bit!

Go for a Drive: Driving is a good way to distract your attention away from your concerns and fears. A little tip: Open your windows, put your music on and pretend like you’re in a video clip, let the wind make you smile!

Taste and Smell an Orange or a Lemon: The soothing scent of oranges or lemons allows your body and mind to relax with their vivid colors. 

Take a Leisurely Walk: Stroll, walk or run, and let your toxic energy start flowing. Once out, you will feel much lighter and comfortable in terms of mind. A basic activity like walking is not only beneficial for your mental status, but also for your physical condition.

 

 

 

What Weighted Blankets are?

Weighted Blankets are cozy throws that are filled with specific materials such as plastic pellets, steel, sand or glass beads. As we WONAP, we use glass beads in our bamboo blanket, which is the most suitable material for human health. The most optimal weighted blanket is going to be the one that weighs 8-12% of your body weight. The feeling of being pressed and squeezed gently by the weighted blanket can result in a relieving effect. This is the key feature that distinguishes the weighted blankets from ordinary ones.

 

 

Deep Pressure Therapy & Anxiety

Based on what is going around you, your autonomic nervous system that regulates basic body functions such as respiring, digestion, sweating and shivering prepares the body for stress. Individuals with anxiety disorder are more likely to tend behavior like sweating, breathiness and shivering. In fact, these are the most common physical symptoms during anxiety attacks. 

Deep Pressure Therapy increase happy hormones such as serotonin and dopamine, also decrease cortisol levels which are considered as ‘stress hormone’ in the human body, researches stated. This causes a direct effect on people’s moods and behavior. Health professionals and therapists who are dealing with children or adults with hyperactivity, autism, ADHD, anxiety or some sensory disorders usually employ deep pressure therapy as a therapeutic method to achieve calmer behavior. 

 

 

Do Weighted Blankets Really Work for Anxiety?

The concept of using some weight as a soothing technique is based on current modern medical practices. The weighted blankets are specifically designed to function to recreate the deep pressure on the body. It is the same way that tight swaddling makes babies feel snug and safe so they can fall asleep faster. The blanket essentially captures a soothing touch, potentially helping to calm down and relieve the nervous system.

Feeling a gentle pressure over a weighted blanket sets your parasympathetic nervous system into ‘rest mode’, by lowering the uneasiness of anxiety, such as difficulty in respiring or quickened heart rate. The blanket provides the user with anxiety an overall feeling of the relieved mind and body. It provides a perfect sound sleep with the feeling of relaxation.

90% of the users say that weighted blanket supports them to soothe!

 

 

If You are a Hot Sleeper with Anxiety…

An anxiety attack may cause the person to get hot due to the distress they are experiencing at that moment, or people with anxiety may sweat more frequently. When we say ‘blanket’, you can think of a product that similar to a quilt, keep you warm all the time and cannot be used except winter season. You should get these thoughts out of your mind!  

The main material of regular weighted blankets is usually cotton or polyester. Due to the cotton and polyester material, the user may perspire excessively, particularly in summer seasons. If you are sweating too much, cotton and polyester fabric may not be suitable for you. 

As WONAP, we preferred BAMBOO fabric for your convenience, considering the health of our users at the highest level. Thanks to the bamboo fabric, the WONAP Weighted Blanket offers users a breathable experience! You will not feel cold in winter and sweat in summer thanks to its breathable bamboo-specific feature.

1- Lap Use

Imagine you woke up vexed in one day, or you had an argument with someone or heard some bad news. Your anxiety may recur based on these and you are not feeling good or productive at all. Even on such days, we should not fall behind our daily goals, work or school. Alongside motivating ourselves on these days, you can try to take your weighted blanket with you while you are going to work, school or somewhere else. While regular blankets with cotton or polyester fabrics are not suitable in all seasons and may sweat your legs in use, you can use WONAP weighted blanket in any time on your lap all year round. When you use the WONAP weighted blanket in any event on your lap and legs, it will help you to boost your motivation and encourage your sustained productivity.

 

2- Shawl Style

When you feel unwell, you can wrap your blanket on your shoulder while performing any activity or work at the office or home. If you feel a little bit worse than usual, you can wrap the blanket more tightly around your shoulder to feel the pressure more effectively. You can minimize your anxious thoughts and stress you experience with your weighted blanket! 

 

 

 

There is no problem that cannot be solved with the right approach. Allow yourself and your mind to relax. Your body always knows what it needs and when you slow down the mind we can hear the message it is giving you. Listen actively to the signals from your body each day and develop a relationship between your body and mind so that both may blossom!