Best Weighted Blankets for Restless Legs – Here’s the Best Picks of 2024!

Restless Leg Syndrome effects roughly 10% of Americans and if you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome and sleepless nights, this article may be just what you are looking for.

Here we will talk about weighted therapy and how it can relieve symptoms of restless leg syndrome by sleeping with a weighted blanket.

At the end we will review the best weighted blankets so that you have all the information you need to get some relief and some sleep!

First we will review the best weighted blankets on the market and then talk in detail about how weighted therapy and help with symptoms of restless leg syndrome.

Let’s get started!

Here are the Best Weighted Blankets for Restless Leg Syndrome of 2024:

Weighted Idea Soft Weighted Blanket

Via Amazon

The Weighted Idea Soft weighted blanket has a soft, silky outer layer that stays cool and smooth to the touch.

Its removable cover can be removed during the warmer months and added back during the cooler winter months for extra warmth.

They have different size and weight options making it ideal if you are shorter than average or taller than average:

They recommend choosing a blanket that is 7% of your total body weight so that it is not too heavy.

Key Features:

• 6 options to choose from ranging from size to weight
• 4 colors: Navy Blue, Grey, Dark Grey, Light Pink
• Removable Cover
• Easy to clean
• Machine washable Minky Cover

YnM Weighted Blanket:

Via Amazon

With over 4700 positive reviews on Amazon, this weighted blanket by YnM is one of the best you can buy, and the price is not too bad either.

This blanket has glass beads sewn into place so that they don’t shift if you switch positions through out the night.

YnM has a  7-layer system designed to comfortably surround your body and form to your shape while you sleep and the MORE glass beads & LESS fiber fill design offers better temperature control.

The blanket is available within a range of 5-25 lbs and comes in 13 colors and sizes:

They recommend choosing a blanket that is about 10% of your total body weight.

Key Features:

• 13 colors and sizes to choose from
• Roughly $50 less than most weighted blankets
• Glass beads sewn into place

BlanQuil Weighted Blanket

Via Amazon

Celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian actually swear by this blanket for relief from stress, anxiety, and just for providing comfort after a long day.

This weighted blanket by BlanQuil comes with a moisure wicking Chill cover that’s cool to the touch or you can choose a soft quilted cover instead that is on the warmer side.

It is made with plastic pellets and the outer cover is safe to put in the washer and dryer.

This blanket is available in 15 lbs or 20 lbs and a few color options.

Key Features:

• 77 independent baffles that keep the eco-friendly glass beads distributed evenly across your body
• Sized at 48” x 74” and perfectly balanced for a single user
• For couples or large beds, a set of two is recommended
• 15lbs or 20lbs
• Removable, washable covers

ZonLi Weighted Blanket

Via Amazon

The ZonLi weighted blanket is 100% cotton, making it breathable , soft and also hypoallergenic.

If you suffer from allergies due to different synthetic fabrics in bedding, then this is a great option for you.

The high-density sewing technology, two-layer microfiber are added to prevent the loose of the thread and leakage of the beads.

ZonLi recommends choosing a blanket size and weight that is 6-10% of your total body weight for this style:

We love that you can even choose the fabric of the duvet cover: 100% Cotton, Bamboo (for hot sleepers), Minky (for cold sleepers).

Key Features:

• Three cover fabric options: Cotton, Bamboo, Minky
• Removable cover
• 100% cotton
• Hypoallergenic
• Loops to secure the duvet cover

What is Weighted Therapy?

Weighted therapy is the use of weighted products to apply weight and deep touch pressure (surface pressure) to the body stimulating the proprioceptive sense enabling those who are “sensory seeking” to relax, focus and have a greater awareness of their body.

Weighted therapy can benefit those who:

• have difficulty unwinding, relaxing and sleeping
• have a short attention span and are easily distracted
• show tactile sensitivity – need to touch everything or are resistant to touch
• have a poor awareness of their body or body position
• display self-stimulatory behavior such as rocking, twirling and chewing
• have restless leg syndrome

Weighted therapy has many benefits and weighted blankets fall under the category of weighted therapy products.

In fact, weighted blankets are widely used for this type of therapy and are proven to be effective.

Today we are going to specifically focus on Restless Leg Syndrome and how these weighted blankets can help relieve symptoms.

We will then share the best weighted blankets on the market for those suffering with Restless Leg Syndrome.

What is Restless Leg Syndrome?

According to WebMD, “Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder of the part of the nervous system that causes an urge to move the legs.”

RLS effects up to 10% of the U.S. population and effects both male and female equally.

In most cases, the causes of RLS are unknown, however it is suspected that genetics play a large role.

A large population of people who have RLS also have some sort of other chronic disease, are taking medications which may cause RLS, or are pregnant (yes, you can have RLS during pregnancy!).

Symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome include:

• Uncomfortable sensations in their legs (sometimes arms or other parts of the body()
• An irresistible urge to move the legs
• Uncomfortable itchy pins and needles or creepy crawly feeling in the legs.

Symptoms are usually worse at rest, especially when lying down or sitting for longer periods of time.

To get relief, those with RLS must move their legs — sometimes so often that it disrupts their daily life and their sleep.

How Weighted Blankets Help with Restless Leg Syndrome:

Weighted blankets consist of square pockets filled with weights that are quilted together to make a heavy blanket.

Weighted blankets act like a gentle, steady hug around the legs, which may help calm irritated nerves and intolerable sensations.

Because weighted blanket therapy also promotes the production of serotonin and melatonin, adults with RLS often feel calmer and less anxious during sleep, when RLS symptoms are known to flare up.    

Serotonin is used to transmit messages between nerve cells, it is thought to be active in constricting smooth muscles, and it contributes to wellbeing and happiness, among other things.

Melatonin is a hormone that’s made by the pineal gland in the brain, melatonin helps control your daily sleep-wake cycles and is a natural sleep aid.

Just like other weighted therapy techniques mentioned above, weighted blankets can provide Deep Touch Pressure to the legs.

Deep Touch Pressure uses firm but gentle pressure to relax muscles, and increase circulation.

Restless Leg Syndrome is a neurological based disorder which mens that messages received by the senses and carried by the nerves to the brain play a part in the symptoms of RLS.

Weighted blankets stimulate “happy hormones” (serotonin and dopamine) by the Deep Touch Pressure.

When released, these hormones promote a sense of calm and overall well-being which then help alleviate the restlessness of RLS, among other things!

Other Ways Weighted Blankets Can Help:

Alleviate Insomnia, Ease Anxiety, Achieve Deeper Sleep

According to the Sleep Health Foundation, roughly 1 in 3 adults suffer from insomnia.

If you suffer from Insomnia, you are most likely tossing and turning all night long and never really getting that deep, restful REM sleep that your body needs.

Before trying different sleep aids such as sleeping pills or Melatonin, you should give weighted blankets a try.

A weighted blanket helps you sleep by helping you relax and feel safe as you fall asleep.

The blanket is heavier and stays on all night long so that you don’t get interrupted when you move and need to readjust the blanket, waking you up and making it hard to fall back asleep again.

Research published in the journal Occupational Therapy in Mental Health found that weighted blanket therapy helped reduce anxiety in 63 percent of adults, thus leading to better sleep.

And for 78 percent of adult study participants, a weighted blanket acted as a “calming modality.”  

Help Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Did you know that 12 million adults in the U.S. suffer from Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgis is a condition characterize by chronic, widespread pain as well as other symtoms including:

• tenderness
• fatigue
• difficultly sleeping

One of the hallmarks of fibromyalgia is intense pain at 11 or more of the medically identified 18 “tender point sites” throughout the body.

These symptoms vary and tend to become more intense over time and can be more present at night when lying in bed.

Myofascial release is a therapy technique that involves gentle, hands-on pressre over trigger points and tender point sites on the body.

A weighted blanket can act in the same way when trying to sleep by applying pressure over the body with the weight of the blanket when lying down or sleeping.

Help Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States according to a study and it effect roughly 5.5 million Americans.

Unfortunately there is not cure for Alzheimer’s Disease but it is possible to manage symptoms such as Anxiety, depression, and mood swings.

Daily Caring, an award-winning website for caregivers, recommends weighted blankets for adults with Alzheimer’s. “A weighted blanket or lap pad is a simple, non-drug option that can be used day or night. They reduce anxiety, calm nerves, provide comfort, and promote deep sleep.”

Conclusion:

Prolonged experience of Restless Leg Syndrome symptoms, especially when they have been disrupting sleep and causing pain or discomfort for years, can lead to depression.

It is worth the money to invest in a weighted blanket!

Those who have tried this method to relieve symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome have said that after about 7-10 days to adjust to the weighted blanket, they noticed improvement in their sleep, overall mood, and well being.

Do you personally have experience with weighted blanket therapy? If yes, please leave your story in the comments below!