7 Benefits Of A Bamboo Weighted Blanket (+ Best Ones To Buy In 2021)

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Want to try the deep pressure therapy of a weighted blanket to help ease insomnia or anxiety, but worried it will make you too hot?

Then the ‘cooling’ benefits of a bamboo weighted blanket may surprise you.

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Whilst all weighted blankets work in the same way, by providing a gentle ‘massage’ like pressure on the user, (via a weighted filling such as tiny glass beads) they’re not all made from the same fabric.

Many weighted blankets use man-made fabrics such as polyester or Minky Dot fleece and these can prove pretty warm to sleep under.

Although natural cotton can be a better choice for warm sleepers, cotton still absorbs moisture rather than ‘wicking it away’ from the body.

This is where making the shift to a bamboo weighted blanket can prove a revelation, since bamboo is a naturally ‘cooling’ material that moves moisture away from the body where it can evaporate into the air. This helps keep you cool and sweat free.

In A Hurry?
Here are our Top 5 Picks for the best bamboo weighted blankets in 2021:
Best Overall – Wonap Bamboo Weighted Blanket
Best Value – Zonli Bamboo Weighted Blanket
Best ‘Eco’ – Weighted Evolution Bamboo Blanket
Best For King & Queen Beds – CuteKing Blankets
Best For Kids – Harkla Bamboo Weighted Blanket

However, the benefits of bamboo weighted blankets don’t stop there.

Here are 7 reasons to choose a bamboo weighted blanket for sleep and anxiety.

7 Bamboo Weighted Blanket Benefits

1 – Bamboo helps you stay ‘cool’

Many weighted blankets use man made fabrics such as Minky Dot fleece.

Whilst cosy and warm, man made fabrics generally don’t breath well and tend to retain heat. This isn’t very practical if you get hot easily.

And whilst naturally breathable cotton is and usually a cooler option, bamboo is even more absorbent. In fact it’s one of the most effective materials out there for wicking moisture away from the skin.

It also allows moisture to evaporate into the air quicker than cotton and doesn’t stick to the skin, all factors that help you to stay cool and dry.

2 – Bamboo blankets are ‘thermo regulating’

Bamboo is ‘thermo regulating’, a process that helps your body maintain its core internal temperature.

So as well as being naturally ‘cooling’, bamboo weighted blankets will also help keep you warm in colder winter months, by trapping warm air its fibres. Even though bamboo is breathable, this warm air cools slowly, helping to keep your body warm.

This makes bamboo weighted blankets practical for year round use.

3 – Bamboo is sustainable

Synthetic materials, such as polyester, are not biodegradable. They are also plastic based fibres, which means they rely on the petrochemical industries and fossil fuel extraction for their raw material.

And whilst natural, biodegradable cotton may seem like a more sustainable choice, in reality it’s one of the most environmentally demanding crops. Not only does cotton farming use high levels of pesticides, it’s also very water intensive to produce. In fact, according to this article, it can take up to 3,000 gallons of water to make a single cotton T-shirt.

Bamboo, however, is an incredibly self sufficient plant. It needs less water to grow than crops such as cotton and regrows quickly after being cut down. In fact, it’s the fastest growing plant in the world, making it a highly renewable source.

Bamboo is also naturally resistant to insects or infecting pathogens, meaning it doesn’t need pesticides to grow.

4 – Bamboo fabrics are ‘silky’ soft

If you’re worried bamboo fabrics might feel a little rough on your skin, bamboo viscose or lyocell (what bamboo weighted blankets are usually made from) is actually very comfortable.

In fact many people find bamboo fabrics softer and silkier to the touch than cotton fabrics.

Bamboo fabrics also tend to drape well around the body and are anti-static, so you don’t need to worry about any annoying ‘clinging’.

Bamboo fibres also generally require less dye for their coloration.

5 – Bamboo fabrics wrinkle less

Bamboo fabrics also benefit from being much more wrinkle resistant than fabrics such as cotton or linen.

So if it sometimes feels like you only need to look at a cotton duvet cover for it to sprout a hundred wrinkles, you should find a weighted blanket with a bamboo cover needs much less (or even no) ironing.

And even if your bamboo cover does look like it needs an iron after washing, it can be ironed at a much lower temperature than cotton.

6 – Bamboo fabrics stay fresh longer

Whilst it is naturally breathable, cotton still absorbs sweat into the fabric. Bamboo fibres, on the other hand, wick moisture away from the body, leaving the sweat to evaporate into the air.

These natural moisture ‘wicking’ properties means bamboo fabrics are more likely to stay fresh for longer.

7 – Bamboo fabrics are durable

The bamboo tree is well known for it’s resilience. A hardy plant, it grows quickly and can naturally ward of insects without the need for harsh pesticides.

Even after processing, bamboo fabric still retains much of the plant’s riginal inherent strength, making it a strong, durable fabric to choose.

The Best Bamboo Weighted Blankets

If you want to try the ‘cooling’ benefits of a bamboo weighted blanket for yourself, here are our top picks for 5 of the best bamboo weighted blankets available online.

Best Overall – Wonap

Made from 100% bamboo viscose & filled with glass beads, the Wonap Bamboo Blanket is our top choice for great quality at an affordable price.

With consistently positive reviews, the cooling bamboo fabric stabilises body temperature & is suitable for year round use.

A 4″x4″ diamond design also reduces bead rustling & movement, plus dense stitches & durable thread prevent bead leakage. Designed in a neutral Folkstone Grey, the blanket comes in a wide range of sizes, making it a practical choice for both kids and adults.

Check Latest Price For The Wonap Bamboo Weighted Blanket

Best Value – Zonli

If budget is a factor, it’s hard to beat the Zonli Bamboo Weighted Blanket for price without skimping on quality.

Made from 100% bamboo viscose and filled with glass beads, it’s designed with smaller square ‘pockets’ to distribute beads evenly.

Two-layers of Bamboo Viscose are designed to keep you cool and dry and extra padding helps keep beads secure & prevent movement.

Choose from 7lbs up to 30 lbs blankets & colours from grey to sea grass.

Check Latest Price For The Zonli Bamboo Weighted Blanket

Best ‘Eco’ – Weighted Evolution

If you’re eco conscious + want to stay cool, the Weighted Evolution Blanket is definitely worth a look.

It comes with a bamboo lyocell cover (5% spandex), which is a much more sustainable & eco-friendly bamboo fabric than the more commonly used bamboo viscose.

Keep in mind the inner weighted blanket is not bamboo, it’s just the outer cover that’s made of bamboo fabric – however, the advantage of having a removable cover is that it makes washing much easier, as it protects and limits how much you’ll need to launder the inner blanket. There’s also the option of a cover with one side Minky Dot fabric (often a good choice for sensory seekers) and the other side bamboo.

Check Latest Price For The Weighted Evolution Bamboo Blanket

Best For King & Queen Beds – CuteKing

Most weighted blankets are designed for single person use, which can make bamboo weighted blankets for couples harder to find.

So if there’s two of you or you specifically want a blanket to fit a King or Queen size bed, check out CuteKing Bamboo Weighted Blankets.

Made from bamboo viscose & filled with glass beads, CuteKing blankets help keep you cool year round & come in a range of dimensions suitable for single or double sleepers in King, Queen, Twin, or California size king beds.

Check Latest Price For The CuteKIng Bamboo Weighted Blanket

Best For Kids – Harkla

Harkla specialise in making weighted blankets for children, particularly those with special needs.

Their bamboo weighted blanket feature a bamboo inner weighted blanket and a removable Minky Dot cover (polyester).

The benefit of Minky Dot fabrics is that they often work extremely well for sensory seeking children with autism or ADHD. Extremely soft and tactile to the touch, Minky Dot fabric features small raised dots, which helps offer the extra sensory input many children with sensory disorders crave.

Available in three colour combinations in 5, 7 and 10 lb sizes.

Check Latest Price For The Harkla Bamboo Weighted Blanket

Bamboo Weighted Blankets In The UK

If you’re looking to enjoy the benefits of bamboo weighted blankets in the UK , but can’t find the blankets above, here are 3 popular bamboo weighted blankets, which are usually readily available in the UK and much of Europe.

1 – YnM Cooling Weighted Blanket – YnM are one of the biggest bestsellers in weighted blankets. Their bamboo viscose version is filled with glass beads and comes in a wide choice of sizes/colours, suitable for adults & children.

2 – GnO Weighted Blanket & Removable Bamboo Cover – another popular option, this time with an inner cotton weighted blanket and a removable cover made from bamboo lyocell (a more sustainable option than bamboo viscose).

3 – BedStory Weighted Blanket for Adults – a cooling blanket with consistently positive reviews, this blanket is two sided to cater for all seasons. Sleep under the bamboo viscose side to stay cool or switch to the plush side in colder months.

Bamboo Fabric FAQS

Still have a question or two about the benefits of bamboo fabric. Here are some frequently asked questions that might help.

Is Bamboo Antibacterial?

You’ll often see claims made for the remarkable ‘antibacterial’ benefits of bamboo. However, it’s important to keep this claim in perspective with regards to the benefits of bamboo weighted blanket fabrics.

The bamboo tree does indeed contain anti-bacterial substances in the trunk and it uses these to protect itself from insect attacks and fungus. This is one of the major reasons bamboo is considered so sustainable, as due to it’s natural anti bacterial abilities, it can be grown without the need for pesticides. Combined with its fast growing rate and low water consumption, this makes bamboo an attractive sustainable material for textiles.

However, the anti-bacterial properties in the trunk don’t get transferred to the fibres used in textile manufacturing, because they are part of the woody bark and get stripped away during processing.

So in a nutshell, when you break bamboo fibre down into pulp (the part used to make textiles), the anti bacterial properties are actually lost.

Bamboo Viscose or Bamboo Lyocell?

The bamboo fibres generally used in bamboo weighted blankets are bamboo viscose and bamboo lyocell.

Both involve a manufacturing process to create them, but Bamboo Lyocell is considered the greener option, since it undergoes a less intensive production process, uses non toxic solvents and employs a more economical use of energy and water.

It’s therefore considered a more worker and environmentally friendly choice for consumers. So if these factors are important to you, look for bamboo weighted blankets that are labelled as ‘bamboo lyocell’ in the product description.

It’s therefore considered a more worker and environmentally friendly choice for consumers. So if these factors are important to you, look for bamboo weighted blankets that are labelled as ‘bamboo lyocell’ in the product description.

Keep in mind though, a product made from bamboo lyocell, ‘may’ make it a little more expensive.

Is Bamboo Better Than Cotton?

This depends on a variety of factors and for many people it simply comes down to personal choice. But if you’re concerned about getting too hot, bamboo fabrics are often the better choice.

Bamboo is around 40% more absorbent than cotton, wicking moisture away from the skin much faster, where it can evaporate into the air. This helps prevent sweat being absorbed by the fabric, as well as helping you to stay cool and sweat free.

Conclusion

Occupational therapists have been using the calming benefits of weighted blankets for years. A growing body of research also suggests deep pressure therapy may help ease insomnia and anxiety.

But if you’re a hot sleeper, live in a warm climate or don’t like man made fabrics such as fleece, some weighted blankets may prove a notch too high on the temperature scale.

This is where the thermo regulation benefits of a bamboo weighted blanket can prove so effective, since the bamboo fibres will help keep you warm in winter, but also cool and dry when you’re feeling hot. Bamboo is also a more sustainable material than many man-made fabrics and cotton.

Weighted blankets with bamboo covers are also lovely and soft to the touch, plus you should find they wrinkle less too.

View a Range Of Popular Bamboo Weighted Blankets Here

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7 Benefits Of A Bamboo Weighted Blanket (+ Best Ones To Buy In 2021)