Simba Weighted Blanket Review
A weighted blanket for adults, and the honest version has three parts.
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Verdict
A weighted blanket for adults, and the honest version has three parts: a real and modest effect many people enjoy, a weight rule that is simple, and a heat problem nobody mentions until the blanket arrives.
Buy it if
You find weight calming, you have chosen roughly 10 per cent of your body weight, and you will drop your duvet tog.
Avoid it if
You are expecting it to treat insomnia or anxiety. It is a comfort product, not a treatment.
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| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Weighted blanket for adults |
| Weight rule | Roughly 10 per cent of your body weight |
| Heat | Weighted blankets add warmth. Adjust the duvet accordingly. |
| Washing | Heavy when wet. Check your machine capacity and whether the cover removes. |
| Not suitable for | Children who cannot remove it unaided, or anyone with restricted mobility |
The scores
A reasonable comfort product, sold with claims that run ahead of the evidence.
Expensive, and weighted blankets are broadly similar at a given weight.
Many people genuinely like it, which is a sound basis for buying one.
The weakest score. Weight means bulk and bulk means warmth.
Heavy when wet. Check your machine before ordering.
Expect several years before the stated tog stops being true.
Simba's standard terms.
Mixed and mostly small studies. The confident claims outrun it.
The weight rule, and why heavier is not better
The common guidance is roughly 10 per cent of your body weight. For a 70 kilogram adult that is about 7 kilograms.
Too light and it is just a heavy blanket. Too heavy and it becomes restrictive rather than calming, makes turning over hard work, and pins the bedding down.
On a shared bed there is a practical problem nobody mentions: a weighted blanket sized for one of you is wrong for the other, and a blanket heavy enough for a larger person is uncomfortable for a smaller one. Two separate blankets work; one shared one usually does not.
Not suitable for anyone who could not remove it unaided, including children who cannot lift it off themselves and anyone with significantly restricted mobility or strength. If you are considering one for a person with a diagnosed condition, that is a conversation with a clinician, and specialist weighted products exist for good reasons.
What to expect, honestly
Weighted blankets are widely reported to feel calming and a lot of people like them. The research on whether they improve measurable sleep outcomes is mixed and the studies are generally small, so the confident claims in marketing run ahead of the evidence.
My position: it is a comfort product a lot of people enjoy, and that is a perfectly good reason to buy one. It is not a treatment for insomnia or anxiety.
If sleep is a persistent problem, the useful step is a GP rather than a purchase, because insomnia has effective treatments and a blanket is not one of them.
The part nobody mentions until it arrives
Drop your duvet tog
Weight in a blanket comes from fill, and fill is bulk, and bulk insulates. A weighted blanket makes your bed meaningfully warmer.
If you sleep under a 10.5 tog duvet and add one, drop to a 4.5, or you will throw both off at three in the morning and conclude the blanket does not work.
Washing is the other practical issue. A 7 kilogram blanket absorbs water and becomes very heavy, and many domestic machines will not spin one. Check whether the cover removes separately, because washing a cover is a different proposition from washing the blanket.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Weighted blankets are added to an existing bed as though they were a neutral extra layer, and weight comes from fill, fill is bulk, and bulk insulates. A weighted blanket makes a bed meaningfully warmer, so someone adding one over a 10.5 tog duvet will usually overheat and conclude the blanket does not suit them. Dropping the duvet to a 4.5 at the same time is the difference between it working and not.
Should you buy it?
Reasonable if you find weight calming and you choose roughly 10 per cent of your body weight. Drop your duvet tog when it arrives.
On a shared bed, two separate blankets work where one shared one does not. And if sleep is a persistent problem, see a GP rather than buying bedding.
Questions people ask
How heavy should a weighted blanket be?
Roughly 10 per cent of your body weight, so about 7kg for a 70kg adult. Too heavy becomes restrictive rather than calming and makes turning over hard work.
Do weighted blankets help you sleep?
Many people find them calming, which is a sound basis for buying one. The research on measurable sleep outcomes is mixed and mostly small studies. It is a comfort product, not a treatment for insomnia or anxiety.
Do weighted blankets make you hot?
Yes. Weight comes from fill, fill is bulk, and bulk insulates. If you sleep under a 10.5 tog duvet and add one, drop to a 4.5 or you will throw both off at three in the morning.