weighted blanket? and idea for a cheap one

my therapist suggested one. i was dubious. before i even looked online (and saw they can cost $200!!!!) i looked around my house and came up with a super old, heavy sleeping bag (musty and smelly, but i'm a guy so it's fine), and old blue 'moving mats.' movers use them to move things, to protect the objects, like, say  a piano mover..... i tried all that, just covering myself, and nearly suffocated and died from the weight... ok, it was only 15lbs or so. so next night i try just the old sleeping bag, 7 lbs. felt good! i felt safer. 

anyone else? i'm going to continue trying this experiment, as long as it feels good. and of course, cost? zero.

happy and healthy december all....

  • I know what you mean - I tend to sleep on my right side with a pillow against my chest with my head resting on it - my arm is often on top near my face and I annoy myself by breathing out along my own forearm - it blows the hairs just enough  to wake me up.   The long-sleeved top stops that and also allows the top of the duvet to not have to touch my stubble - too many irritating stimulus.  Smiley    We have good insulation and heating so general temperature is not normally a problem.

  • i do similarly... in terms of temp control. i thought of getting leg warmers that dancers use, to cover principally my fore arms, if they are outside the covers. low cost sounds great... expensive wool long johns are kind of nice... smart wool is the brand here. pricey. $80 or more for the top, and similar for the bottom..... um, there are also these bed warmer things... electric, they are like a fitted sheet to the mattress. i use mine simply to not have the bed be cold; i don't use it for heat, per se.

  • Water beds are expensive - and they are electrically heated so expensive to run too!.     I'm doing it for as little money as possible because it might not get a lot of use.     I find I sleep best with a thin long-sleeve top on so my arms don't feel any draughts - like me breathing down my own arm.- and one sock (right foot) so my left foot can be used as a variable temperature heat sink if I stick it out of the bed edge.  Smiley

  • best of luck with the beds! idk, i sleep pretty hot... i mean, i have a down comforter, knit cap, and sleep as warm as i can. i noticed when i take a hot soak that i get sleepy. have you tried a water bed???? idk if people still use those!

  • I'm doing a similar experiment - suffering from some serious health problems so having great difficulty with sleep - I have 4 beds right now - a king-size upstairs, a single downstairs, the sofa in the living room with a thick duvet on it to be more comfortable and now, a double airbed to build a 3-dimensional pillow and cushion nest/fort with a load of pillows to act as movement-limiters.    That's been successful so I had a new bed base delivered yesterday and the new mattress arrives in a couple of days to do it properly.     The airbed can be such a let-down.  Smiley.   My wife seems to chase me around the house at night - she's usually found in the single bed next to my airbed - like a little dormitory in the front room.  Smiley

  • as long as they work, i say! my 'other half' keeps quiet....

  • yep i fix things to keep them working  my other half hates my fixes but they work !

  • ty all.... yeah,,, i'm cheap and practical (practical so much that it's totally impractical, lol). i guess i'm wondering if those are spectrum traits..... i mean, like less concerned with style or fancy things...???? but i am also never quite sure about how things feel and affect me, so the zero cost blankie lets me test it out... now i'm unsure about it, and used it half the night last night...  we'll see.

    happy december... we're in stay at home here.

  • i looked around my house and came up with a super old, heavy sleeping bag (musty and smelly, but i'm a guy so it's fine), and old blue 'moving mats.' movers use them to move things, to protect the objects, like, say  a piano mover..... i tried all that, just covering myself, and nearly suffocated and died from the weight...

    Brilliant - you really made me laugh.   Smiley   I'm a practical bloke too so I would have done the same thing.  Smiley

    Glad you found a workable short-term solution.  Smiley

  • I borrowed a spelt filled one for a week and I loved it and it helped, but I didn't buy because of the expense.

    I use a kapok filled duvet, so it's quite heavy, and then a heavy blanket on top of that. The key is weight, not necessarily having a weighted blanket. As a kid I just had loads and loads of blankets. So many I couldn't move! In the summer I use a cotton filled duvet, so again heavier than a synthetic one, but I might get a weighted blanket for next year.

  • If you decide to buy a cheap one, you'll find that you have to replace it more often and its far more expensive. You'll want one with purchasables covers as most of them are not washing machine washable.Most of them are filled with metal or ceramic ball bearings. when i was a child my sister put multiple duvets in one quilt cover which was effective until it came to summer time.