Can Weighted Blankets Help Insomnia?

This episode is sponsored by 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit that aims to help people choose careers that have a positive impact. Head to 80,000 hours dot org slash healthcare triage to start planning a career that can help solve some of the world's most pressing problems. Insomnia is common in psychiatric disorders and contributes to their symptoms and overall progression. It'd be great to have some kind of easy and convenient treatment. Could something like weighted blankets help? That's the topic of this week's healthcare triage. The prevalence of insomnia among individuals with other psychiatric diagnoses is higher than what we see in the general population, and it can be difficult to treat. The mainstay of most guidelines, including those in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians, is behavioral interventions, namely something called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia or CBTI, which is supported by moderate quality evidence. In this approach, patients work with a counselor to address unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that may underlie the insomnia and to modify things like sleep schedule, sleep environment, and sleep hygiene. Unfortunately, there are often several barriers to access this treatment. Patients may also be given medication for their insomnia, but this isn't always a good long-term solution. So some patients are wondering if there are other, easily accessible options that they can turn to, like weighted blankets. So are they worth a try? To the research! A 2020 study randomized 120 patients to a weighted or normal blanket condition for four weeks. They selected patients with psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or ADHD. They excluded patients with other conditions, including drug use disorders, heavy sleep medicine usage, and cognitive disorders such as dementia, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, or developmental disorders. The investigators informed the patients that the blankets were the experimental variable, but not that weight was a variable in question, though this was probably fairly obvious. They looked at a self-reported insomnia severity score with questions about various aspects of sleep quality, and had outcomes including depression and anxiety scores. At the end of the four-week period, the patients in the weighted blanket group reported significant improvement in their insomnia symptoms, with about 38% achieving remission compared to the control group. They also noted a statistically significant change in both depression and anxiety scores. After the four-week experimental period, the investigators gave the patients whichever blanket they wanted, and followed them for up to a year, finding that those in the control group who switched to the weighted blanket had similar results to the experimental group. These are interesting results! We definitely need more information, though. For one, this was a single trial, with only about 60 patients in each arm. Also, the control and experimental groups had some differences. The weighted blanket group had a higher proportion of women, and there were group differences in the use of specific medications relevant to their mental health disorders. Finally, it's unclear how generalizable these results may be. A 2014 study examining the effect of weighted blankets on insomnia in children with autism found no significant difference between groups, and very little data exists on weighted blankets and insomnia in the general population. Limited, but somewhat related data suggest that weighted blankets can be helpful for anxiety, but again, work remains to be done. But even without a clear answer, there seems to be little harm in using a weighted blanket if it helps you sleep and feel better. Why not? Thanks to 80,000 Hours for sponsoring this week's episode. 80,000 Hours is a non-profit that aims to help people have a positive impact with their career. There are many, many career paths that can be fulfilling, rewarding, and can also do good in the world. 80,000 Hours has done 10 years of research into the most impactful careers, and they have resources available to help you choose a path that'll do good in the world. They offer an 8-week career planning course, job boards, free one-on-one calls with career advisors, podcasts, and many other resources. All of 80,000 Hours' provided resources are free, and their only aim is to help you find a fulfilling, high-impact career. Click the link in the description or go to 80,000Hours.org slash HealthcareTriage to get a free copy of their in-depth career guide. This will also sign you up to their newsletter, where they send updates on their research and job opportunities. Hey, if you enjoyed this episode, you might enjoy this previous episode on sleep deprivation. We'd appreciate it if you'd like the video, subscribe to the channel down below, and consider going to patreon.com slash HealthcareTriage, where you can help make the show bigger and better. We'd especially like to thank our research associates, James Glasgow, Joe Sevins, Edward Lilleholm, and Brian Nam, and of course, our Surgeon Admiral, Sam. Special thanks to Elliot Rappaport for his work on this episode.