At a glance
What began with a friend’s recommendation turned into one of Dan’s most important sleep discoveries. The weighted blanket, with its steady pressure and hug-like comfort, helps his body release tension and his mind slip into calm.
Quick tips
- Select a blanket around 10% of your body weight for optimal comfort.
- Give yourself time to adjust — the weight feels unusual at first.
- Wash at home if the machine allows, or use laundry services.
In this blog series, Dan, Weavve Home's co-founder, has been opening up about his personal journey to better sleep.
The first chapter detailed his struggle with chronic sleep deprivation, while the second uncovered the unexpected role of a CPAP machine in his nightly routine. Now, in Part 3, the focus shifts to something far cosier: the weighted blanket. For Dan, it has become one of his top sleep essentials. What seems like an ordinary sleep aid has earned its place as one of his non-negotiables for deep rest, thanks to the comforting embrace it offers night after night.
The Blanket That Hugged Me Back
The weighted blanket is, for me, one of the top 4 things that make or break my sleep: the others being a firm mattress (of which there are many good ones in the market), a firm pillow of high loft, and a cool room (16 °C to 19 °C for me in a tropical climate).
I can describe the feeling of using the weighted blanket as even pressure across the whole body from shoulders down to feet, but that really doesn’t do it justice (more details on this “indescribable” sensation later). While the mattress and pillow gives me the right “set up” and fixes my body in the right position, the weighted blanket provides ever increasing comfort and tranquility until I fall asleep.
How It Started
I first heard of the weighted blanket around the time we were starting Weavve Home. A friend suggested I go check it out. And when we went to China for the trade fair, we did see quite a few factories offering it.
Shortly after we launched Weavve Home, we brought in a very small number of weighted blankets, and stock sold out really quickly. The weighted blankets have since been one of our top sellers.
Featuring Weavve’s Weighted Blanket
Trying It Out
Of course I had to try it out as we were bringing it in, but also as I wanted to really understand the sensation.
Now it’s inarguable that when you first sleep under the weighted blanket - there is a sensation. Personally it did not feel uncomfortable, it just felt different and a bit weird initially. It’s like a sports massage or being stretched by a trainer - while it feels very unnatural and there is some strange “discomfort”, the “discomfort” is experienced in a comfortable way - as you succumb to it you feel more and more comfort even though it is a very foreign sensation initially.
Just like a trainer stretching out your hamstrings or glutes with his body weight after an intense training session, as you allow the muscle to be stretched more and more, the muscle feels more relaxed and the soreness or tightness is eventually gone.
After while though, the pressure feels like an extended strong hug from a loved one. The physical sensation (in non scientific terms) starts to relax all the muscles, and helps the mind enter a comfortable and tranquil state. The “tune down” effect then adds to everything else that makes me feel sleepy, and it then “pulls” me into sleep increasingly.
Featuring Weavve’s Weighted Blanket
Using It Daily
I use the weighted blanket every night when I sleep, and even when I take afternoon naps during the weekends. It is almost a must-have when I sleep, just like my CPAP machine. It is not that practical to bring the weighted blanket with me when I travel; I actually feel like something is missing when I try to sleep when I am overseas.
The weighted blanket does make me feel sleepy faster. If I am already tired and sleepy, I fall asleep really quickly with it. If not, I can feel the physical pressure as a form of comfort as I more gradually fall into sleep.
I also feel that I sleep more deeply, and wake up less during the night. Or if I wake up and have to use the bathroom, I fall back to sleep much faster using the weighted blanket. I definitely feel very well rested the next day, as I believe I experience much deeper sleep with the blanket.
Is It Too Hot?
I get asked this question a lot, and I think there are a two perspectives to this.
The first, is that our body temperatures drop as we prepare for sleep, and continues to drop as we sleep. A lower temperature, especially as we live in the tropics, thus helps us fall asleep more easily and stay asleep (longer).
The temperatures most often quoted is between 16 to 19 °C, and I find that for myself this is very accurate. I sleep with the aircon set at 16°C most nights. I’m naturally warm so this works for me. Sometimes when it rains, I can set it higher or there are some nights where I just sleep with the fan.
There are nights when I set the thermostat above 20°C, and as the room warms up, I do wake up. It’s really disruptive as I need to reduce the temperature and then wait to fall back to sleep. Or I just try to fall back to sleep without adjusting the temperature and it might take a while.
The second perspective is that various blankets or duvet might be warmer or cooler than others. Here, there are 2 things to take note of: (i) the most obvious visually, is how thick a blanket or duvet is and (ii) what material(s) are used. For the former, a single layer summer blanket would definitely be much cooler than a thick winter duvet. And for the latter, materials like TENCEL™ are cooling (but can also keep one warm in cold weather), whereas down is used in temperate climates during the colder months.
Putting two and two together, we should then target sleeping at an optimal cool temperature, and the blanket or duvet of our choice can help us get there.
However, if one (like me) gets benefits from using the weighted blanket but may find it a bit warm (as it is constructed with filling versus a thin summer blanket), then using the air conditioner will help bring the temperature down (we’re supposed to be sleeping between 16-19 °C in any case, and most nights in the tropics are hotter than that).
Choosing and Using the Weighted Blanket
The guide is to choose a weighted blanket that is around 10% of your body weight if you are using it alone. As I am a bit larger and on the heavier side, I use a 9kg queen. Ideally, I should be using something like a 9kg super single or a heavier queen, and while I find that the effects of the 9kg queen (where I am using only like 60% of the surface area of the blanket) is already comforting, I think I would prefer something heavier (with more pressure).
I use the weighted blanket without a duvet cover. The cotton may seem a bit rougher at first, but as will all good cotton it gets more comfortable with use and with washing. I wash the weighted blanket at home if the washing machine can take the load, if not I send it to the laundry.
Closing Thoughts
Good or bad sleep is life changing for most people, especially so for me, and the weighted blanket brought a whole new dimension to my sleep. I’d recommend it for people who don’t fall asleep easily (in addition to other things like exercise and keeping a constant sleep schedule). While the weight may feel very weird at first, I believe the comfort it brings can really improve anyone’s sleep!
Author Bio
Dan is the co-founder of Weavve Home, a Singapore-based bedding brand, weaving up better sleep for everyone—one comfy bedding item at a time. Whilst he’s not busy fussing over the next colour to launch or being forced to appear in the next social media post, you’ll find him lifting weights, chasing down great food, or experimenting with new ways to improve his own rest. Lately, he's been geeking out over all things sleep—bedtime routines to sleep aids—and sharing the wins, fails, and everything in between.
