The effectiveness of weighted blankets on sleep and everyday activities – A retrospective follow-up study of children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and/or autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Kjellberg (2021): The effectiveness of weighted blankets on sleep and everyday activities -A retrospective follow-up study of children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and/or autism spectrum disorder,

Experiences of Using Weighted Blankets among Children with ADHD and Sleeping Difficulties

“…The children in our study experienced improved sleeping patterns such as a shorter time before falling asleep, fewer awakenings, and less disturbance from the environment when using a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets may be an intervention that strengthens the cues of sleep onset by enhancing sensory stimuli in connection to sleep, lowering distraction from other stimuli, and improving the routine connected to preparing/going to sleep [ 17 , 30 ]. The weighted blankets can help the child to stay in bed, calming down and establish a routine that promotes sleep, and refrain from activating in other activities.…”

“…This highlights the complexity of sleep and sleep routines confirming the importance of looking beyond sleep duration [ 62 ] and taking a 24-hour perspective when it comes to sleep interventions in children with ADHD. In order to improve routines connected to sleep, the benefits of using weighted blankets may be augmented by combining them with standard sleep hygiene recommendations, which are proposed as constituting part of the first-line treatment for children with ADHD [ 5 , 17 , 63 , 64 ]. This is common practice in the prescription process of weighted blankets [ 19 ] and will ensure that individual needs are met from evening to morning routines.…”

“…Weighted blankets are an intervention targeting bodily functions and the environment. They are used in healthcare settings for treatment of anxiety and sleep problems [ 14 , 15 ] as a cognitive assistive technology [ 16 ] and a sensory integration-based intervention [ 17 ]. The use of weighted blankets has been praxis for several diagnoses and settings, most commonly in ADHD [ 18 , 19 ].…”

“…Individualized care, typical for assistive technology [ 22 , 23 ], needs to collect individual experiences from the target group in a systematic manner in order to ensure that the children's view is taken into account. Previous knowledge exploring weighted blankets in children with ADHD has informed the current body of knowledge based on parent interviews [ 17 , 30 ], parent questionnaires [ 31 ], parent sleep diaries [ 31 , 32 ], and objective sleep measurements [ 31 , 32 ] and is to the best of our knowledge lacking children's experiences of weighted blankets. We need to be aware of children's experiences in order to improve the delivery of tailored interventions and the prescription of assistive technology [ 23 , 33 ].…”

Evaluation of an occupation-based sleep programme for people with Insomnia

“…Furthermore, ongoing disruptions in sleep and rest could impact on people’s choice, performance, and participation in variety of occupations, i.e., one’s occupational balance (Dhas & Wagman, 2020; Ho, Dür, Stamm, & Siu, 2020). Reviews (e.g., Ho & Siu, 2018; Smallfield & Molitor, 2018) showed that the range of occupational therapy interventions for sleep problems include sleep hygiene education, cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) (Eakman et al, 2017), prescription of sleeping aids (e.g., quilt, Dreampad pillow or weighted blankets) (Bolic Baric et al, 2021), physical activities, mind-body activities and mindfulness training, and lifestyle interventions (Leland et al, 2016). While there is a growing interest to develop sleep intervention programme in occupational therapy, these reviews showed that many programmes were not designed or organised based on occupational therapy theories (Ho & Siu, 2018).…”