Posted 03 September 2025
Professor of Occupational Health Psychology, Birmingham City University
They have been promoted as a remedy for anxiety and sleeplessness, with celebrities and influencers swearing by their calming effects. Weighted blankets – heavy throws filled with glass beads or plastic pellets – have gone from a niche therapeutic tool to a mainstream wellness must-have, promising better sleep and reduced stress for anyone struggling to unwind.
But do they deliver on these bold claims, or are we simply paying premium prices for an expensive placebo?
Occupational therapists have used weighted blankets since the 1970s to help children with autism and adults with sensory processing disorders. They became commercially available in the 1990s, but remained largely within special needs communities.
That changed dramatically in recent years when companies began targeting what they call the “casually anxious” – essentially, anyone struggling with modern life’s stresses. The … Read the rest