Less anxiety before surgery or during chemotherapy: what hospital studies found with weighted blankets
Three American hospitals tried a weighted blanket with patients waiting for surgery, undergoing chemotherapy, or staying in the hospital. In this article, you’ll learn what happened to their anxiety and what these studies still cannot tell us.
Through:Koen Dolron -
- Reading time: 7 min
Published: 13-10-2026 - 2026-10-13T09:14:25Z
Updated: 13-10-20262026-10-13T10:54:54Z
You are having surgery today and are already lying in your bed on the ward. You are wearing a hospital gown and have not eaten anything since last night. A nurse asks for your date of birth once more and says it will be a little while longer. So you lie there waiting, and the longer it takes, the more often you think about the surgery.
Feeling tense is simply part of it. According to a review of 32 studies, more than one in four people admitted to a general hospital (28%) have significant anxiety symptoms. A few American hospitals therefore investigated whether a weighted blanket might help: a blanket made heavier, for example, with glass beads.
This page covers three of these studies. In 2020, adults who had just started chemotherapy received a weighted blanket during their first or second infusion, and they were less anxious with the blanket. In 2024, 148 adults awaiting planned surgery received either a warm weighted blanket or an ordinary sheet or blanket. On a scale from 0 to 100, the blanket group had an average anxiety score of 26, compared with 39 in the other group. In 2026, 54 hospitalised adults with anxiety symptoms spent 20 minutes under a 6.75-kilogram blanket. Their anxiety was on average 3.6 points lower than with usual care, on a scale from 0 to 10.
The results point in the same direction. However, in every study everyone knew whether they had received the blanket, and in the surgery study the blanket was also warm. Below, you can read what was measured in each study and what conclusions you can and cannot draw from it.
Why these studies are discussed together
All three concern short-term use during a stressful moment in the hospital, not sleeping or using it at home for months. The chemotherapy and surgery studies partly involved the same researchers.
Vinson 2020: anxiety during the first chemotherapy sessions
How the study worked
The study took place in the outpatient clinic of a chemotherapy center run by Parkview Health in the United States, among adults who had just started chemotherapy. By random assignment, one group received the weighted blanket during the first infusion and the other group during the second. This meant everyone had one session with and one without the blanket: a cross-over design.
Anxiety was measured with a questionnaire and a visual analogue scale: a line on which you indicate how anxious you feel at that moment. Everyone received a blanket of one standard weight during care.
What the researchers found
With the blanket, anxiety during the infusion was lower than without it. According to the researchers, one weighted blanket of a standard weight can be used safely for patients of different weights. We do not know how many people took part or exactly how large the difference was.
Study in brief
Researchers: Jaime Vinson, Jan Powers and Kelly Mosesso
Year and journal: 2020, Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing
Country: United States
Study type: randomized crossover study
Participants: new adult patients at an outpatient chemotherapy center
Duration: two chemotherapy infusions, one with and one without the blanket
Blanket: a weighted blanket provided by the care team, with the same weight for everyone
The study involved 148 adults undergoing planned surgery at multiple hospitals. By random assignment, 74 received a warm weighted blanket before surgery, while the other 74 received a sheet or regular blanket. Before surgery, they rated their anxiety and pain on a scale from 0 to 100. Afterward, the researchers assessed agitation, nausea, and vomiting.
Because the blanket was both heavy and heated, any difference could have been caused by the weight, the warmth, or both. We do not know how heavy the blanket was or how long it remained in place.
What the researchers found
The group with the warm weighted blanket had an average anxiety score of 26.3, compared with 38.7 in the other group. According to the researchers, this difference was statistically significant, so it was probably not due to chance. They found no difference in preoperative pain or in postoperative nausea, vomiting, or agitation. Their conclusion that a weighted blanket reduces preoperative anxiety should be interpreted more cautiously because of the warmth.
Study in brief
Researchers: D. R. Payne, Jaime Vinson, Jan Powers and colleagues
Year and journal: 2024, AORN Journal
Country: United States
Study type: randomized controlled trial with a comparison group, conducted at multiple hospitals
Participants: 148 adults awaiting planned surgery, 74 per group
Duration: blanket used before surgery, measurements taken before and after surgery
Blanket: a warm weighted blanket; the weight is unknown
At Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, 54 hospitalized adults participated between March 2023 and February 2025. They had rated their anxiety at least 4 on a scale from 0 to 10, with an average rating of 7. Anyone who could not remove the blanket themselves was excluded.
There were two consecutive 20-minute periods. By random assignment, half received the blanket during the first period and the other half during the second. During the other period, they received usual care, such as quiet conversation, family at the bedside, or dimmed lights, followed by another 20 minutes without the blanket. The blanket weighed 6.75 kilograms, was filled with glass beads, and had a hospital-vinyl cover.
What the researchers found
In the first period, the blanket group scored an average of 3.6 points lower on anxiety than the usual-care group. The effect continued after the blanket was removed, so only the first period counted for the primary outcome.
Afterwards, 85% found the blanket calming. One-third found it too heavy, and 11 to 15% found it too warm underneath.
Study in brief
Researchers: Christine Rico, Marci Ebberts and colleagues
Year and journal: 2026, American Journal of Critical Care
Country: United States
Study type: randomized crossover study, in one hospital
Participants: 54 hospitalized adults with anxiety symptoms
In all three studies, participants knew whether they had the blanket and rated their own anxiety. People who expect a blanket to help may score lower.
The blanket in the surgery study was also warm. We do not know whether the weight adds anything beyond the warmth.
We know the direction of the outcome in the chemotherapy study, but not its size.
The 2026 study was small, took place in one hospital, and everyone received the blanket once. Some of the patients invited did not take part, for example because of a previous unpleasant experience with a blanket like this or because it was too warm.
These studies say nothing about sleeping under a weighted blanket, using one at home, or anxiety disorders. They do not tell us anything about children either: all participants were adults.
In an Australian hospital, seven out of ten people with dementia and agitation kept a weighted blanket on for the entire session, without additional risks (Fox and colleagues, 2026). And in Taiwan, heart rates stayed lower in people who received a weighted vest and weighted blanket while having a wisdom tooth removed (Chen and colleagues, 2025). The vest and blanket were used together there, so we do not know what the blanket alone did.
Dreading a hospital admission or treatment? Start with a conversation with your doctor or nurse; a blanket does not replace that conversation or any medication you are given. You can ask whether the department has a weighted blanket. If the tension lingers at home, this article about sleeping with stress offers tips for the evening, and your GP is a good first step.
Pay attention to the weight: in the 2026 study, one-third found 6.75 kilos too heavy. For home use, the rule of thumb is approximately 10% of your body weight. This is a practical guideline, not a finding from this study (how to choose the right weight).
Is it for your child? A weighted blanket is not suitable for babies or children under 3. For older children, the same rule of thumb applies, and the child must be able to push the blanket off themselves. See the safety page.
Sources
Vinson, J., Powers, J., & Mosesso, K. (2020). Weighted blankets: Anxiety reduction in adult patients receiving chemotherapy. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(4), 360-368. DOI
Payne, D. R., Vinson, J., Powers, J., et al. (2024). Effect of weighted blanket versus traditional practices on anxiety and pain in patients undergoing elective surgery: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. AORN Journal, 119(6), 429-439. DOI
Rico, C., Bhadu, K., Callahan, B., Fu, Z., Jones, P. P., & Ebberts, M. (2026). Weighted blankets to reduce anxiety in hospitalized patients. American Journal of Critical Care, 35(5), 362-368. DOI
Walker, J., van Niekerk, M., Hobbs, H., et al. (2021). The prevalence of anxiety in general hospital inpatients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. General Hospital Psychiatry, 72, 131-140. 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 for informational purposes. The summary is based on the original publications, which you can read yourself via the links above. Unsure whether a weighted blanket is right 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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'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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