ZonLi Waffle Weighted Blanket, 15 lb

How heavy should a weighted blanket be?

The usual guidance is about 10% of your body weight. At 145 lbs that puts me right around 15 lbs, which is this blanket. Err lighter rather than heavier if you are between sizes — too heavy reads as restrictive rather than calming, and a blanket you fight is a blanket you stop using.

I sleep under a weighted blanket every night, so take the enthusiasm as disclosed bias, but the weight guidance is standard.

Why the stitching grid is the spec that matters

Every weighted blanket is beads in pockets. If those pockets are large, the beads migrate, and over a few months you get a blanket that is heavy at your feet and empty across your chest. A 2.3 inch grid is tighter than most and is the single best predictor of whether a weighted blanket is still good in two years.

The washing problem, said plainly

Fifteen pounds of wet blanket exceeds what most home washing machines are built to spin, and people destroy machines this way. The real answer is a removable duvet cover that you wash instead. Budget for one; treat the blanket itself as something you rarely wash.

Who should not use one

Anyone who cannot easily push it off themselves — small children, and anyone with mobility or respiratory issues that make weight on the chest a problem. Check with a doctor rather than guessing. For everyone else, it is one of the cheapest sleep interventions worth trying.