Dec 13, 2022 14:00:00

Using a ``heavy blanket'' may boost the secretion of sleep hormones

In recent years, in response to the research results that `

`sleep is improved by sleeping with a heavy blanket (weighted blanket)'' , bedding manufacturers sell heavy blankets that appeal to the effect of a good night's sleep. There should be some people who changed the blanket to use from a light one to a heavy one. A new experiment conducted by a research team at Uppsala University in Sweden showed that sleeping with a heavy blanket increased the secretion of the sleep hormone `` melatonin ''.

A weighted blanket increases pre‐sleep salivary concentrations of melatonin in young, healthy adults - Meth - Journal of Sleep Research - Wiley Online Library
https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13743

Weighted blankets may lead to more melatonin, the sleep hornone - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/06/weighted-blanket-sleep-melatonin-benefit/

Weighted-blanket use may boost sleep hormone melatonin, small study hints | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/melatonin-weighted-blankets-sleep

In the 1990s, occupational therapists discovered that heavy blankets had a calming effect on children with developmental and sensory disabilities. After that, research results that heavy blankets have the effect of improving sleep have been reported, and in a study published in 2020 by a research team at Karolinska Medical University Hospital in Sweden, 120 subjects with mental disorders Targeted experiments have shown that using heavy blankets can improve sleep maintenance and reduce insomnia tendencies.

Insomnia may be improved by making the blanket on the body heavier - GIGAZINE

Christian Benedict, associate professor of pharmacology at Uppsala University, said, 'I've met many pediatricians and occupational therapists who have told me about the magical effects of weighted blankets, but I wonder if it works as a placebo effect . I didn't understand,' he commented. Therefore, he decided to experiment to see if physiological changes appeared in people who wore heavy blankets.

Benedict and colleagues focused on melatonin, which is involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms and is also called the 'sleep hormone'. During the day, when light enters the eye, it sends a signal to a brain region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus , which blocks melatonin production by the hormone-secreting pineal gland . When the sun goes down and it gets dark, the suprachiasmatic nucleus releases the brakes on the pineal gland and the production and secretion of melatonin starts.

The research team recruited 26 men and women in their 20s who had no history of sleep disorders or weighted blanket use, one day on a light blanket equivalent to 2.4% of their body weight, and one day on a weighted blanket equivalent to 12.4% of their body weight. I had them sleep in the laboratory. In addition, before the experimental session, in order to get used to each bedding, they slept at home using a light blanket or a weighted blanket.

After eating dinner at 19:00, each subject spent 2 hours in a bright room, and from 21:00 the room was darkened. The research team collected the saliva of the subject every 20 minutes from 22:00 to 23:00 at bedtime and measured the melatonin level.

The results of the experiment found that subjects using weighted blankets had an average increase in melatonin levels of about 32% compared to subjects using light blankets. “Sensations such as gentle pressure on the skin can activate brain regions that affect melatonin secretion,” Benedict said. I think it can be explained,' he said.

However, the study did not clarify why using a weighted blanket increases melatonin levels, or whether increased melatonin levels improve sleep quality. Subjects said that there was no difference in sleep time or sleepiness after waking up, regardless of which blanket was used.

'Future studies should investigate whether a stimulatory effect on melatonin secretion is observed nightly with frequent use of weighted blankets over weeks to months,' the research team said. The pre-existing effects of weighted blankets for depression and anxiety and whether they are related to treatment are yet to be determined.'