Cooling Weighted Blankets: Do They Work for Hot Sleepers?

A cooling weighted blanket is one built to hold less heat: a breathable cover such as cotton, bamboo-derived rayon or Tencel, glass bead fill instead of plastic pellets, or an open knit with no fill. It will not chill you, but it runs cooler than fleece. Choosing a slightly lighter weight helps too.

“Cooling” is a maker’s description, not a tested standard, so it pays to look past the label at what the blanket is made of. Four things decide how warm a weighted blanket sleeps: the cover fabric, the fill, the way it is built, and how heavy it is.

Why do weighted blankets feel hot?

Weight means mass, and mass holds heat. The Sleep Foundation explains that weighted blankets can sleep warmer than regular blankets because they are heavier and made with dense materials. A fleece or flannel cover adds to that, since those fabrics trap warmth against the body.

Which fabrics and fills sleep coolest?

The Sleep Foundation groups weighted blanket materials by how much heat they hold:

Glass or plastic fill. T3 explains that glass “nano” beads are much smaller than plastic pellets, so they settle evenly into the stitched pockets and you feel weight rather than individual pellets. Plastic pellets are bigger and can feel lumpy. T3 adds that glass is the more expensive option, and says glass beads can go in the washing machine while plastic pellets cannot, so a pellet blanket without a removable cover may be spot clean only. The care label has the final say. Our guide to glass bead weighted blankets covers the two fills in more depth.

Knitted or quilted. A knitted weighted blanket is a thick, chunky knit whose weight comes from the yarn itself, with no beads at all. The Sleep Foundation says the open weave lets air move through. A quilted, duvet-style blanket is a shell of stitched pockets holding the fill, often with batting, and sometimes inside a removable cover you can wash separately.

What do bamboo and Tencel labels mean?

Two fabric names come up again and again on cooling weighted blankets, and both are worth reading closely.

Bamboo. The Federal Trade Commission says most textiles sold as bamboo, if not all, are actually rayon. Rayon is made by dissolving plant pulp in chemicals and reforming it into fiber, and no trace of the original plant remains. The FTC says these products should be labeled with the generic fiber name, such as “rayon” or “rayon made from bamboo.” It also says a seller needs competent and reliable evidence for any claim that the fabric keeps bamboo’s natural properties.

Tencel. Tencel is Lenzing’s trademark for lyocell, a fiber made from wood pulp. The FTC’s textile rules treat lyocell as a type of rayon: cellulose dissolved in an organic solvent and spun into fiber without the chemical intermediates of other rayon processes. Makers market it as moisture-wicking; Bearaby, for one, says its Tencel wicks moisture better than cotton.

Knitted cooling blankets: one example

Bearaby, a weighted blanket maker, sells a knitted blanket it calls the Tree Napper and describes as a cooling weighted blanket. Bearaby lists it as 52 percent Tencel and 48 percent organic cotton, hand-knit with an open loop that lets air through, and calls it the coolest blanket in its knitted range. Those are the maker’s own claims. Bearaby’s care advice is to wash it separately in cold water on a delicate or permanent press cycle with mild detergent, then tumble dry on low.

A knitted blanket like this is heavy to wash and has no smooth cover, which some people miss. A quilted glass bead blanket with a removable cotton cover is the other common route to a cooler night.

How heavy should a cooling weighted blanket be?

A heavier blanket holds more heat. The Sleep Foundation suggests that hot sleepers may prefer a weighted blanket at about 7 to 10 percent of body weight, toward the lighter end of the usual guideline. For a 150 pound adult, that means roughly 10 to 15 pounds. Our weighted blanket weight guide explains the 10 percent rule and where it comes from.

Weighted blankets are never safe for babies, and Bearaby does not recommend them for children under 4. The weight guide covers who else should not use one.

Ways to sleep cooler under a weighted blanket

The blanket is only part of the picture. The Sleep Foundation’s suggestions for hot sleepers:

• Skip the extra layer. Use the weighted blanket in place of a comforter rather than on top of one.
• Keep the room cool. The Sleep Foundation suggests a bedroom temperature of about 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Move some air. A fan or an open window helps carry heat away.
• Wear breathable sleepwear. Light cotton keeps heat from building up underneath.

For summer, light cotton bedding suits a weighted blanket better than flannel. Our flannel sheets guide covers the warmer side of the bed for when the weather turns, and our throw blanket guide compares weighted, knitted and plush throws for the sofa. For every other type of blanket, see our blankets section.