Is A Blanket The Answer To Anxiety?

And stress? And poor sleep? Janna Johnson O’Toole examines the weighty issue.

THE YEAR IS 2016. THE MONTH: MARCH.

Harvey Weinstein is the most powerful man in Hollywood; Barack Obama, the world. At Balenciaga, it’s Demna Gvasalia, freshly appointed after Alexander Wang’s departure. His debut collection is a sharp turn from Wang’s swan-song palette of ivory satin and lace, as Gvasalia sends an army of plaid power suits down the runway, followed by a comically large coat with virtually zero utility – the Swing Puffer.

Fast-forward a few months and Gvasalia’s collection is on shelves. The 2016 US Presidential election isn’t the triumphant celebration of the power suit as many had hoped, but life still imitates art: curling up in that large doona-like jacket, complete with head-cradling flaps to fully cocoon away from the problems of the world, suddenly seems like the ideal coping device.

Thankfully at present time, things are a little less bleak. There’s #MeToo, #TimesUp and marriage equality. And there’s the weighted blanket. Technically, the blanket has been around for decades in clinical settings – used as a calming device for children with autism spectrum disorders – but now there’s Calming Blanket, Sheltered Co, Neptune Blanket and Gravity, all recently launched “wellness” brands aimed at the over-stressed and underslept (aka you). The blankets are soft, design-conscious and available in aesthetically pleasing shades of grey. They weigh in at anywhere from 6kg to 11kg (and at a fraction of the Swing Puffer’s $3,000 price tag).