After a long hard day, most of us just can’t wait to catch a few peaceful hours of sleep snuggled up under a nice cosy blanket. But have you ever thought about why we choose to sleep under blankets?
Some experts believe that this particular sleeping habit is hardwired to our brains since childhood when we’re swaddled to prevent us from moving in the middle of the night as babies. They think we sleep with blankets since they help synch our circadian rhythm or internal body.
While blankets probably won’t protect you from whatever you think is hiding under your bed at night (it won’t so better don’t let your feet hang from the edge of your bed!), there are actually several reasons why humans sleep better snuggling up under the covers.
3 Reasons We Love Sleeping Under Blankets
It Keeps Us Warm
This might seem like the obvious answer, but at night when the temperature drops, blankets are there to keep us warm. Even in warmer climates people still use blankets when they go to sleep – even if it’s just a light sheet.
Our core body temperature tends to drop when we fall asleep, and when we reach the stage of rapid eye movement or REM sleep, our bodies are unable to regulate their own temperature. This makes it harder for us to keep warm especially since we experience REM in the early hours of the morning when the temperature is coolest.
Sleep quality, while affected by other factors like how smooth your bedsheets are or the amount of melatonin your body can produce, is heavily affected by how comfy your bed is. Need to cool down after a warm day? Light blankets are your thing. But if you need a good night’s rest at the end of a chilly morning, there’s nothing better than being toasty.
Blankets are our best friends in this scenario, keeping us warm in the cold night air when our bodies can’t do it themselves. Cuddling with a heavy blanket not only improves our thermoregulation, but they also feel like high-class snuggling, especially with the Ecosa Weighted Blanket!
It Can Reduce Stress
Sleeping with blankets has also been known to calm us down. Studies show that weighted blankets have an especially relaxing effect on users, commonly used to treat anxiety and insomnia.
These special blankets are used in deep pressure touch stimulation (DPTS), a non-drug therapy for relaxing patients naturally. The pressure on our bodies releases serotonin and relaxes the nervous system, making it easier to have a more restful sleep.
Other research showed that dozing with a weighted blanket a day can help keep anxiety and depression away. Keep in mind, though, that if you’re struggling with those two, it’s best to speak with a healthcare professional and please don’t be afraid to reach out to the people around you.
Better sleep produces a lot of benefits, not only to your physical well-being but also to your mental health.
It’s hard to contemplate what it feels like sleeping without a blanket. Aside from keeping you comfortably toasty throughout the night, you can rest peacefully as if you’re being cuddled by a loved one. You can even think of it as a nice warm hug!
We’re Used to It
Humans have never really needed to sleep under blankets. Before modern times when fabric was not mass-produced, blankets were actually considered to be a luxury that could only be afforded by the rich and powerful. Common folk would instead sleep next to each other to keep warm at night.
Fortunately, we live in a time when blankets are much more accessible to everyone. Most of us as children were tucked into bed by our parents, leading us to associate sleep with being bundled under the covers.
At the end of the day, using a blanket could just be behavioural conditioning – something we picked up from our parents when we were babies.
Whichever position you like to sleep in – fetal position, the log, starfish pose, etc. – we know you’ll have your trusty blanket no matter what. At the end of the day, we might all just be kids at heart, wanting to be swaddled up under nice warm covers. Sleep tight!
Check out: Ecosa’s Bamboo Weighted Blankets
