13 minutes more sleep with a weighted blanket: Danish study on depression and insomnia (2024)
Danish researchers had adults with depression and insomnia sleep under a weighted blanket for two weeks and under their own duvet for two weeks. In this article, you’ll learn where those nearly 13 extra minutes of sleep come from and what the study does not show.
Through:Koen Dolron -
- Reading time: 5 min
Published: 13-10-2026 - 2026-10-13T09:14:25Z
Updated: 13-10-20262026-10-13T10:53:28Z
You have been receiving treatment for depression for some time. During the day, things are sometimes a little better, but the nights remain difficult. You lie awake for a long time, or you wake up at four o'clock and cannot get back to sleep. In the morning, you start a day that is already difficult enough feeling tired.
According to figures from the Trimbos Institute, 9% of adults in the Netherlands had a depressive disorder in the year before the measurement, more than for any other individual mental health condition. Poor sleep often goes along with it: according to the Danish researchers in the study below, the majority of people with depression experience insomnia. A weighted blanket is something some people try in that situation. In one Swedish region, nearly 1,800 adults with a mental health condition were even given one on prescription.
A 2024 Danish study examined what such a blanket does for people with depression who also sleep poorly. It included 45 adults receiving treatment at an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Everyone slept under a 7 kg weighted blanket for two weeks and under their own duvet for two weeks; randomisation determined the order. Among the 40 people who completed the study, a wrist-worn activity monitor recorded an average of 12.9 more minutes of sleep per night with the weighted blanket, and questionnaire scores showed some reduction in insomnia and depression symptoms.
The researchers found no difference in the time it took to fall asleep, waking during the night, anxiety or the use of sleep medication. The effect is modest, and the participants knew which blanket they had. Below, you can read what you can and cannot conclude from it.
Why this was studied
Insomnia often disappears last during depression, even when the depression itself has already passed, and it increases the risk of relapse. Sleep medication can have side effects and lead to tolerance or dependence. That is why the researchers looked for a non-medication option alongside regular treatment.
How the study worked
The study ran from November 2019 to May 2023 at five outpatient psychiatric clinics in Denmark. People could participate if they had depression and slept poorly at least three nights a week: needing more than half an hour to fall asleep, being awake for more than half an hour in the middle of the night, or waking up an hour or more too early. People with chronic pain, sleep apnoea or breathing problems were excluded.
The researchers call the blanket a Ball Blanket. It is a weighted blanket filled with plastic balls instead of small glass beads. This blanket weighed 7 kg for everyone. The idea is that the weight applies pressure to the body, also known as deep pressure stimulation. The balls move freely inside the cover. The comparison was the participant's own lightweight duvet.
Because everyone tried both blankets, each person served as their own comparison: a crossover design. An actigraph, a small wrist-worn device that measures movement, monitored sleep for 28 nights. There were also questionnaires about sleep, depression and anxiety, as well as a diary for sleep medication.
What the researchers found
Of the 45 participants, 40 completed the study. Two of the five who stopped did not sleep comfortably under the blanket.
With the weighted blanket, participants slept an average of 414 minutes per night, compared with 401 minutes with their own duvet. This difference of 12.9 minutes was the main outcome.
On the Insomnia Severity Index, a questionnaire about insomnia, the score fell by about 3 points more with the weighted blanket than with the participant's own duvet.
On the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the score fell by 2.8 points more with the weighted blanket.
There was no significant difference on a second depression questionnaire, time to fall asleep, the number of awakenings, time spent awake during the night, sleep quality or anxiety, although these figures were slightly lower with the weighted blanket.
There was no difference in sleep medication use, although few participants used such medication.
No side effects were reported.
Fourteen people received other medication during the study; without them, the difference in sleep duration was approximately the same.
What this study does not say
12.9 minutes is a small difference, less than the 20 minutes the researchers had aimed for in advance. They still consider it relevant because the scores for insomnia and depression also fell.
The participants knew which blanket they had, and a normal duvet is not a sham blanket. Expectations may therefore have played a role; that is why the wrist measurement was the main outcome.
We do not know whether the effect becomes greater, remains the same or decreases after two weeks.
The study involved adults with depression who were receiving treatment. It says nothing about healthy people who sleep poorly.
Whether a blanket with glass beads has the same effect as this blanket with plastic balls was not studied.
The blanket manufacturer paid half the lead researcher's salary, and a public Danish innovation fund paid the other half. According to the authors, the company had no role in the study design, analysis or reporting.
How this fits with other research
In a 2020 Swedish study of 120 adults with insomnia and a mental health condition, symptoms decreased much more with a heavy blanket than with a light one, while the wrist monitor found no difference in time spent awake. Read more in the summary of that Swedish study.
There are also Swedish registry data on sleep medication among 1,785 adults with a mental health condition who received a weighted blanket on prescription. The number of people without prescription sleep medication subsequently rose by 3.3%, although prescription melatonin use increased by 3.6%. Lower use of sleep medication was seen among people with depression, among others, but not among those with a psychotic or bipolar disorder. This was observational research without a comparison group: an association, not a cause.
Do you have depression and sleep poorly? Your healthcare provider or GP is the first person to speak to. A weighted blanket is not a substitute for treatment; treatment continued as usual in this study too. If you snore loudly or stop breathing at night, first ask to be checked for sleep apnoea. You can read more about this on the safety page.
If you want to try one, the rule of thumb is approximately 10% of your body weight. This is a practical guideline, not an outcome of this study; read more in the article about choosing the right weight.
Source
Kristiansen, S. T., Videbech, P., Speed, M., Dionysopoulos, P., Bjerrum, M. B., & Larsen, E. R. (2024). The efficacy of ball blankets on insomnia in depression in outpatient clinics: A randomised crossover multicentre trial. Journal of Sleep Research, 33(6), e14238. DOI Checked on 2026-10-12.
Written by Koen Dolron, owner of Novaline. Koen is not a doctor and Novaline does not provide medical advice: this page is intended as information. The summary is based on the original publication, which you can read yourself via the link above. Are you unsure whether a weighted blanket is suitable for you or your child, for example because of a medical condition or medication? Consult your GP or healthcare provider first.
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Het deken is mij aangeraden via een buur. Hij sliep er zalig onder maar ik had er mijn bedenkingen bij. Toch nam ik het risico en gebruik het nu gedurende een week. De eerste 5 minuten is het wennen, maar daarna voel je het gewicht niet meer en slaap je beter dan voorheen. Heb geen spijt van mijn aankoop.
Hoi! Wat geweldig om te horen dat de deken zo goed voor je werkt en dat je er beter door slaapt. Bedankt dat je je ervaring deelt, dat waardeer ik zeer! Groetjes, Koen
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- Koen
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's Nachts werkt de deken helaas niet voor mij, omdat het gewicht tijdens mijn slaap mijn vecht-of-vluchtreactie activeert. Dit kan natuurlijk een kwestie van wennen zijn.
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