Everything struck me at once in 2012 ! First, my 15 years old daughter left home to attend a boarding school which was 2500 miles away. Then, my husband of 19 years went to Cuba and came back with a mindset to leave his family, his job and country for a 23 years old chick he met in Cuba. While I was still in shock, he dropped divorce papers and went back to Cuba. Then came my 14 years old daughter’s rebellious behavior; skipping schools, run aways, smoking and hanging out with wrong crowd.
While I was dealing with these challenges, I went through many sleepless nights. I knew my high level stress was the reason. However, after more than a year, my life was getting back in order, divorce was finalized, kids got better, my financials were in recovery, but my sleep was still deprived to few hours a night.
As a medical doctor, I know how chronic insomnia destroys every cell in the body. Not having enough sleep is linked with everything from attention/memory deficit to hypertension, heart problems to depression.I was very tired and irritable during the days and counting the hours during the nights. I was hesitant to take any pharmacological remedy because of the side effects and risk of being dependent to them. Besides feeling too tired during the day, I started forgetting important things. I was not able to keep any new information; my short memory was getting worse. I couldn’t follow even simple conversations. I was so forgetful, one night I was almost burning my house!
After some search in medical literature, I decided to try weighted blankets to improve my sleep. The science was explaining its effect as increased melatonin production by its massage effect. I decided to sew a weighted blanket with using small dry beans as the weight. It took a week to finish the blanket but it worth my time, because my sleep improved after using it for a few weeks.
I was so happy with my better sleep, I decided to sew a better blanket after a while. First came the selection of a better fabric. I learned that advanced nanotechnology was being used in the textile industry to improve health and wellness. The new fabric emits FIR and clinically shown increased blood flow and oxygen level in the tissues. “Health Fabric”, “Performance Fabric” or “Responsive Textile” were used as the name and it was approved as a medical device & general wellness product by FDA. Apparently, Tom Brady started wearing pajamas made with FIR fabric which speeds up his recovery time. Puma developed athletic apparel with FIR fabric for Olympian Usain Bolt.
For my second version of the weighted blanket, I also decided to use special bioceramic beads made with FIR emitting minerals for weight so I can get the best benefit both from FIR energy and the weight. The FIR energy both from the beads & fabric would be the most beneficial with interacting with body during the long sleep hours. I checked the market to purchase one with this combination however there wasn’t any weighted blanket better than my self-sewed one. That made me to think about turning my personal blanket project to a business plan. I approached to two friends both with PhD in health science. Our team worked almost 3 years and tested many samples, we added aromatherapy sheet to the weight and FIR feature and applied for the patent. We named the products Body Benefit –BB- Blankets. Our blankets can be used for insomnia, depression, anxiety, fatigue, autism and ADHD. They are safe for adults and children. We also developed laptop size pads using the same structure, the FIR loaded minerals block the electromagnetic field between electronic devices and the body. The same BB pads are also good for painful joints, inflamed tissues, stiff muscles. They can be used to improve pets health too.
I have been getting restful, good quality sleep with my blankets. I am actually sandwiched between one underpad blanket and one over my body every night to get more FIR exposure. Not only my sleep, but my mood, energy level, memory and overall health is much better now. I wake up refreshed, energetic and happier in the mornings. All my family sleeps with BB Weighted Blankets including my 4 years old granddaughter as seen on the picture.
Surprisingly, even in the hot summer days I feel very comfortable with my weighted blanket, it never makes me feel hot. The bioceramic beads absorb the moisture coming from the body so the blanket doesn’t make me feel sweaty. I am so addictive to it, I wrap my blanket around my body when I work at home in front of the computer. I prefer to be hugged by my blanket when I have a movie night. My miniature Shihtzu sleeps on a BB pad and she seems happy with it.
As Shelly Ibach says on her recent article, when you get enough sleep you improve the lives of those around you, kindness and sleep are very related. My passion is the same as hers and Adrianna Huffington’s; improve the sleep quality for everyone, including our pets.
More information about my blankets can be found at www.bodybenefitblankets.com
TINA URETEN, MD, RDMS, RDCS
Vancouver, Canada