How heavy should your weighted blanket be?
About 90% of weighted blanket returns come down to the wrong weight. This guide settles it in two minutes.
The chart the makers use
Standard guidance (10% of body weight): 65–100 lb → 7–10 lb · 100–130 lb → 12 lb · 130–165 lb → 15 lb · 155–185 lb → 17 lb · 185–220 lb → 20 lb · 220–250 lb → 25 lb · 250–285 lb → 30 lb. These are the same bands makers such as CURA publish across their ranges. If your weight straddles two columns, the next rule decides.
Between two sizes? Round down
If it is your first weighted blanket, take the smaller of the two. Your body needs 3–7 nights to get used to sleeping under weight, and a slightly light blanket still works; one that is too heavy feels oppressive from night one and ends up in a cupboard. Only round up if you have tried one and found it lacking, or if you sleep on your back and barely move.
Signs you picked wrong
Too light if: after a week you barely notice the weight, the blanket slides off when you move, or it feels like "a normal duvet with good marketing". Too heavy if: you wake feeling pressed down, turning over is effort, or your neck and shoulders ache in the morning. Either way the fix is not to persevere — it is to change size within the store's trial window.
Frequently asked questions
Should couples share one blanket?
Not recommended: each body needs its own 10%. One big blanket split between two leaves both of you under the useful weight — and one of you fighting for it. Two individual blankets win every time.
Same weight for the sofa as for sleep?
For short sofa spells you can drop 20–30% below your sleeping weight: it is pleasanter when you are moving around, reading or watching a film.