Gravity is one of those brands that’s rapidly becoming a synonym for its whole sector and it’s possibly one of the coolest weighted blanket brands we have seen.
The generic term for its flagship is a weighted blanket, but use that phrase to most people, and they’ll give you a confused look. “Oh, you mean a Gravity Blanket!” they’ll declare when they work it out.
Like slapping on a Band-Aid or eating a bowl of Jell-O, Gravity Blankets is fast becoming the go-to term for any weighted blanket.
But while all Gravity blankets are weighted blankets, not all weighted blankets are Gravity Blankets… erm… blankets. And besides, the company has expanded its range beyond its initial offering, to include robes, face masks, cooling blankets, pillows, anti-stress sleep courses, and more.
It’s worth noting that Gravity Blankets (not weighted blankets as a whole) was listed as one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2018, so there’s an argument for saying accept no substitutes when it comes to a quality weighted blanket.
Let’s take a look through the brand and its range, so see where the company’s distinguishing features are, and what exactly makes up the Gravity Blankets difference.
Where It All Began
This is not a company with a hundred-year history and a wall full of portraits of previous CEOs.
Founded in just 2017 by Mike Grillo in Brooklyn, New York, the company has always had just one overriding philosophy: to help people enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Better sleep means more energy when you wake up, more positivity to face the day, and more impetus to take life by the hand and do all the things you want to do.
Try doing any of that after a bad night’s sleep? Just not gonna happen.
So how do you help people have a great night’s sleep? According to Grillo, it’s all to do with the power of something clever and scientific known as deep touch pressure stimulation.
What’s deep touch pressure stimulation when it’s giving you a good night’s sleep?
How Gravity Blankets Work
D’you remember being a baby?
Chances are probably not, but in some respects, Gravity blankets work on the same principle as swaddling – and both physically in the here and now, and mentally in the there and then, they hug you gently when you get under them, promoting muscular relaxation.
That means they work not only as traditional blankets, but as elements of self-care, and can boost your overall wellness by improving the quantity and quality of your sleep.
The interior of each Gravity blanket is filled with fine-grade glass beads. When you pull the blanket over yourself, the beads are distributed over your muscles.
That deep touch pressure stimulation means the beads target pressure points on the body, and, not to put too fine a point on it, they zonk you right out. Deeper, less interrupted sleep, no waiting.
Pro tip: make sure you pop to the bathroom before going to bed. There’s uninterrupted sleep, and there’s uninterrupted sleep.
Ideally, you buy a Gravity blanket weighted to 10% of your body weight – unless this is not your first time under the beads and you happen to know you like it lighter or heavier, in which case by all means do the thing you know you want, and good luck to you.
First time under a Gravity? Go lighter, just till you get used to it – nobody benefits from you feeling the pressure of the ‘hug’ as oppressive. If you weigh less than 50 pounds, Gravity Blankets doesn’t recommend using its blankets, simply on safety grounds.
Nobody wants you to be trapped under your blanket come morning. No, really – the pressure is not inconsiderable, so be smart about the weight factor.
How Are Gravity Blankets Constructed?
Gravity blankets can have lots of different exterior coverings – we’ll run through those in a moment – but the central feature that makes a Gravity blanket a Gravity blanket is its inner core of moving fine-grain glass beads.
Originally, these beads were plastic polypellets, but due to the environmental concerns over filling the world with more plastic products, Gravity has committed to change all its beads to glass, which is more eco-friendly.
Gravity Blankets: An At-A-glance Breakdown
Pros
- The whole product range is geared to one aim – giving customers a good night’s sleep and improving their overall wellness
- There are customized weights of blankets, letting people fit their blanket to their own needs
- Covered in soft micro plush and/or fake fur, they give a luxurious feel to any room
- An email alert service lets customers know when items in which they’re interested are available – or on sale!
- Gravity Blankets products can be easily machine cleaned, hand cleaned, or even dry cleaned
Cons
- People who weigh less than 50 pounds (including children) are advised not to use Gravity blankets
- The blankets are sized for individual person usage, rather than to a size of bed
- Blankets should not be shared, as they work best when evenly distributed over a single person
- You cannot customize the King or Queen blankets – you can only get them in the pre-set weight of 35 pounds
- You can only get extra duvet covers for the single-sized blankets. The King and Queen-sized blankets are outside this specification
- The availability of items from Gravity is less constant than is ideal
- If you use a Post Office box as your delivery address, you’re out of luck with Gravity Blankets – the company cannot ship to these addresses
Gravity Blankets: A Range In Review
There are a few features that are common to all or most Gravity Blankets products, such as:
- A 100% polyester micro-plush cover
- An inner section filled with fine-grade glass beads
- Gridded stitching, which is what keeps the glass beads distributed evenly, and stops you from getting a ‘bean bag’ clumping effect
- In Generation 2 blankets, both ties and elastic button connectors to anchor the weighted inner section inside the cover. Generation 3 blankets are more usually zippered for easy, efficient access
Beyond these elements, the company has built up quite a range of different ‘models’ and products, each distinguished from the other in some way. Let’s take a look through the list and see if there’s a Gravity Blankets product on your must-have list.
Signature Gravity Blanket
The Big Kahuna of the Gravity Blankets range, the one on which the success of the company was initially built. It comes in a one-size-fits-all option of 72” x 48” but is customizable in terms of weight – choose between the 15-pound, 20-pound or 25-pound option.
Also available in three color choices to particularly accentuate any given room, you can choose to get yours in white, gray, or navy blue.
The exterior covering (in Generation 3) is zippered for easy access to the interior section when it needs cleaning, and the interior is filled with glass beads, rather than plastic pellets, as in some lower-priced weighted blankets.
Z By Gravity Blanket
Some people run hot. Some people run cold. With a standard Gravity blanket, the chances are, the hot-runners are going to be too hot.
With a Cooling blanket, the chances are the cold-runners are going to be too cold. And besides, they kind of need a blanket each, because that’s how Gravity blankets are designed to work.
Mmm, hold the phone. Z by Gravity is a blanket that has two entirely different sides – one side’s micro plush, the other’s a cooling material for those sweltering nights.
It’s also the first Gravity blanket that’s available in both single and Queen sizes – up to 90” x 90”, with a Queen weight of 25-pounds, compared to the single size, weighted at 15-pounds as standard.
All the rest of the Z by Gravity is the standard issue – glass beads, micro-stitching to avoid ‘bean bag’ bead-clumping, etc.
It’s a Generation 2 blanket, so you get ties and buttons to secure the interior to the duvet cover, rather than zippers, and as usual with the 2-piece Gravity blankets, you can machine-wash the exterior cover, while hand-washing and air-drying is the only recourse for the beading interior.
Cooling Gravity Blanket
Want the soothing hug of a Gravity blanket, but live in a region where the heat is oppressive in the summer and the idea of a hugging blanket drives you into twitching apoplexy?
Chill out – both literally and figuratively – with the Cooling Gravity blanket. Rather than the traditional 100% polyester micro-plush, the Cooling blanket has a duvet cover which is a polyester/Spandex blend, which gives you a more breathable, relaxing sleep experience if you’re a cat on a hot tin roof.
The one thing most people know about Spandex of course is that it’s favored by superheroes, gym bunnies, and professional wrestlers.
The reason it’s favored by these types of people is…? Anyone? Because it’s an excellent wicker-away of sweat, exactly.
That means not only is the outer covering of the Cooling blanket… erm… cooler than a standard Gravity blanket, but if you still get sweaty underneath it, it will help carry away the sweat so it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable enough to wake up.
Available in the same single size as the standard gravity blanket, and the same three colors, you do get a bonus option with the Cooling blanket – it’s available in everything from a 15-pound variant all the way up in 5-pound increments to the 35-pound option.
It’s also available in either the Generation 2 variant, with ties and buttons, or the Generation 3, which has the zipper to speed up cleaning – a particular bonus when you have a sweat-wicking duvet cover.
Gravity Travel Blanket
The Gravity Travel Blanket is a kind of mini-version of the standard blanket – 6” smaller at 66” x 42”, and weighing in at just 10 pounds, it’s available in any color, so long as it’s gray, and comes with its own carrying case, which makes it ideal for hikers, campers, and anyone else who wants to get back to nature, just not necessarily that far back.
Be advised, though. The Travel Blanket may be on its way out, as it’s no longer showing on the Gravity website.
It seems largely to be have been superseded by the Z by Gravity throw, which measures 66” x 48”, weighs the same 10 pounds, but is available in more ruggedly outdoorsy colors and patterns, and is the first one-piece Gravity product, while most have their inner bead layer separate from their outer fleece layer.
The Z by Gravity throw also has a warm side and a cool side, with Sherpa on the one side and flannel on the other, so it’s relatively functional.
It can be a bit of a pain to clean though, because with most (2-piece) Gravity blankets, the inner piece is dry clean only and the outside is machine washable and dryable.
The Z by Gravity throw is one-piece, and therefore has to be treated like the inner sleeve of most Gravity blankets – spot-cleaned with cold water or dry cleaned, and never machine-washed or machine dried.
Gravity Blanket Duvet Cover
Anyone who’s ever slept in a bed knows that the secret to success is having not just one duvet cover, but at least two. That way, you can wash and dry one while fitting the other and not having to sleep without your favorite blanket for a night.
Naturally then, Gravity has a range of single-size additional duvet covers in a range of attractive colors and patterns including navy, ivory, cooling grey, vineyard brush, seashore stripe, and midnight iceberg, so you can have a wash day and a restful night as part of the same one-day cycle.
If the standard duvet cover (in velboa plush, made of 100% polyester) isn’t quite your scene, you can also get a duvet cover in faux fur, for that touch of cruelty-free decadence.
Yes, it’s totally, fauxtally animal-free (77% acrylic, 23% polyester – no acrylics were killed in the making of this product), and it’s available in grey or white, so again, if you want to increase your options, you can get two for different moods.
And while we’re talking about covers, Gravity has also now branched out into fitted sheet sets. Modernist x Gravity fitted sheet sets include a fitted sheet, top sheet, and two pillowcases, all with the Gravity name but without the internal section filled with glass beads.
Designed by Ron Chereskin of Modernist Studios, the sets are available in a range of colors and in either full, King or Queen size.
Weighted Sleep Mask
Sure, the Gravity Blanket hug is helpful to get a good night’s sleep, but for those of us who spend most of our days with the glare of screens going straight into our eyes and – let’s be honest – tangling up our brains – sometimes what we really need is a hug for the head as an act of self-care.
Something to block out the light, apply just a little pressure, like a static eye massage, and help us switch off from the buzzing, binging, what-fresh-hell-is-thising of the day.
Enter the Gravity weighted sleep mask, to do precisely that.
Between 0.75 and 1lb of weighted pressure, with a comfortable, adjustable Velcro strap so it can be worn by anyone, gives the Gravity mask that ability to de-stress your head through the night.
For softness, it’s made of micro-plush and imitation cashmere for relaxing facial stimulation.
The beads in the mask are made of silica, and similar to the 1-piece throw, you’re not going to be able to run this through your usual machine-wash and dry cycle – hand washing will be necessary for the Gravity sleep mask.
Side-note: there used to be an advanced level Gravity sleep mask with a gel insert that could be heated or cooled as you needed, to help increase the comfort of your sleep even further.
While still available on Amazon in some countries, this product has now been removed from both US Amazon and the main Gravity website.
Given the hygienic nature of a sleep mask – which means if you get one, it’s non-returnable – we wouldn’t in all conscience recommend trying to pick one up second-hand from an unofficial sales channel.
Gravity Pillow
This is a development that makes ultimate sense – your pillow is responsible for a lot of your sleeping comfort, so why would Gravity not be in on this action?
A zippered pillow stuffed with shredded memory foam, in a soft bamboo-based pillow cover, giving off the scent of lavender through the night.
Obviously, be aware if you have scent allergies or intolerances – while the pillow comes with 8 scent cartridges, they are of course entirely optional.
Meanwhile, you can customize the firmness of your pillow to your needs, and thanks to the nature of bamboo, both sides of the pillow stay cool unless you’re heating them. Flip away all you like throughout the night, you should be able to keep cool.
Gravity X Modernist Weighted Robe
Another collaborative project with Modernist Studios, the Gravity weighted robe gives you the hug of deep touch pressure stimulation – but in a wearable form.
The robe itself is 100% polyester fleece, but it comes with a 3-pound weighted wrap inside the collar.
That means you can get the weighted blanket around your neck and shoulders if you want it, but you can easily remove it if you simply want to wear the robe without the pressure.
That also means the robe is entirely machine-washable – just take out the wrap before you slip the robe in the machine.
Available in gray, navy blue, or white, and in sizes from Small to XL, there should be a Gravity robe to fit you.
Gravity Blankets: Do They Really Work? And If So, How?
There are plenty of skeptics, both in the general public and in the scientific community, over whether weighted blankets actually work in the way they claim to do.
That’s healthy, and no volume of personal testimonials is going to shift the dial for some people.
That said, there is a lot of personal testimony out there from people who’ve had their sleeping habits, the quality of their sleep, and their overall sensation of wellness changed after using Gravity blankets.
So what’s the science behind it? We described it earlier as a kind of calming pressure hug, but let’s dip into the research a little to get beyond such descriptions.
The science of deep touch pressure stimulation has been used for some time in an occupational therapeutic environment, especially for people with autism, ADHD, and anxiety disorders.
The deep touch pressure stimulation can help to focus people on the external pressure and help to calm them – again, the similarity to a trusted hug feels irresistible.
While as the name suggests, deep touch pressure stimulation is fundamentally a hands-on therapeutic technique, the blanket helps to simulate the technique, without the need for anyone else to get hands-on – which, for many people, is simply not a nightly option.
How Does Deep Touch Pressure Stimulation Work?
Essentially, it triggers a shift in the body, from relying on the sympathetic nervous system, to relying on the parasympathetic nervous system?
The what-now to the huh?
The sympathetic nervous system is basically your ‘taking care of business’ nervous system, your fight or flight nervous system – in short, the system on which you rely all day to get things done.
Rely on it too long though and it can be reluctant to give up the reins and let you rest, either partially or fully.
The parasynthetic nervous system is less “fight or flight,” more “rest and digest”. It’s the nervous system you have that kicks in when there’s no urgency, no threat, no deadline. It’s your chilled-out nervous system.
Obviously, any technique that can switch you from the first to the second nervous system is going to be useful in achieving better-quality sleep. And the research suggests that deep touch pressure stimulation can do just that.
While the use of Gravity blankets needs a lot more thorough testing before its results can stand in line with the occupational therapy research, such tests as there have been suggest that the use of ‘artificial’ deep touch pressure stimulation can help not only those who suffer from conditions that involve focus issues, like autism and ADHD, but can also help ‘switch off’ the overthinking of people with anxiety and those who suffer with insomnia or sleep disorders.
There’s also increasing evidence that the blankets can have a physically beneficial effect on those who are in chronic pain, those with osteoarthritis, and even those who have had surgical procedures – a 2016 study into the use of the technique after wisdom tooth extraction proving particularly useful in this finding.
Whether you want a Gravity blanket to help with any of these conditions, or whether you simply want a calmer, less interrupted night’s sleep, it seems fair to say that Gravity Blankets has a product that can meet your needs.
From individually weighted blankets to travel throws, from soothing pillows to weighted sleep masks, there’s something in the range for everyone who needs a better night’s sleep.
What Other Customers Are Saying
So, sure – Gravity blankets. We like ‘em. Science likes ‘em. But what about the people who’ve actually bought and used them? What’s the low-down on the Gravity blankets experience from Amazon reviewers?
“My Gravity blanket calls my name!“
I’ve wanted to try a Gravity Blanket (the original, not the knock offs) for quite some time because I have trouble sleeping at night for many reasons including anxiety and worry caused by a busy mind that is difficult to shut off at night!
I finally purchased a 20-pound Galaxy Blue Gravity Blanket (which comes with a washable removable cover)! The size is 48″ x 72″ which is the size of a larger throw blanket rather than a King or Queen size I was used to.
I thought it might be too hot because of the weight of it but it isn’t any warmer than a thick comforter. The warmth helps provide coziness which provides a feeling of security (in my experience).
The first few days of using my Gravity Blanket I wasn’t sure I liked it. Having 20-pounds of weight evenly distributed over you all night long was an odd sensation at first.
Then on Day 7, I put the blanket on and it enveloped me and provided a good night’s sleep. I used to only sleep for 2 hours at a time, wake up and then couldn’t get back to sleep. Now I sleep for 4-5 hours or more at a time.
I look forward to going to bed at night because my Gravity Blanket calls my name! I am used to the weight of it now as it provides comfort and a feeling of security, and it is very soft. Since the Gravity Blanket is now my new Best Friend, I don’t go to sleep without it!
“Pays for itself with what you get back for it”
These blankets were gifts for my daughter and granddaughter. They absolutely love ’em, use them on the couch, in the chair, as well as in the bed. Security, warmth, comfort, those are the words they use. Me, I’d have little use for them. If I needed more weight I’d get another blanket and throw that on the bed. Why, then, did I give it such a high rating?
When you have daughters and granddaughters and you make them happy, and they feel warmth and safe and secure? That deserves the highest rating of all, my friend.
“Great investment, best sleep ever”
Although it doesn’t fit my full queen size bed, it’s perfect for myself as I have another blanket for the other side. I’m single and this size is perfect for me. I’m 5’9” and 200 or so pounds and this 25lb option feels amazing.
It literally feels like you’re being snuggled and it’s a pretty awesome feeling to say the least. I’m tickled that a friend recommended this item to me as I suffer from severe anxiety and panic disorder along with insomnia and this blanket truly helps with these conditions.
I was in doubt when purchasing the Gravity Blanket due to the price but I have to admit it’s well worth the money spent. I’m glad I made this purchase and it’s super soft as well. If you aren’t my size, I suggest getting one not as heavy but the 25lb is recommended for my size and whatnot.
If you’re looking for top quality and great comfort, I suggest you make the investment and purchase yourself one. I made the comment it doesn’t fit my queen bed but it’s designed for only one person I believe and looks great with my other blanket which I don’t use but just have it for show on my bed.
Naturally, some people aren’t as convinced by the whole Gravity blanket sensation, though most of those with lower star ratings focus on a shipping issue, rather than on the blankets themselves.
You may also like
The 5 best puzzle brands we are loving
Brooklinen – The Internet’s favourite bedsheets
We’re Not Really Strangers – purpose-driven card game for better relationships