Couple Sleep Positions Meaning

Most of our communication is actually based on non-verbal gestures. Body language is something we are familiar with in everyday life, but it doesn’t stop when we fall asleep.

The position of our body while sleeping can tell a lot about person’s character and emotional state. In terms of love, the way we sleep with our partner can indicate the state of our relationship.

Subconsciously, we choose the position in which we are sleeping. Since we can’t control it, it can be a great way to shed a light on feelings that may not be spoken while we are awake.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common positions couples sleep in their meaning.

1. Tangled, honeymoon hug

We’re starting with the one that is very rare, because it’s not really comfortable to stay in this position all through the night. It usually happens when the emotions are running high (after sex) or at the beginning of relationship, when partners want to be physically close to each other as much as possible. If this is a regular sleeping position for couple, or if you spend all night in this tight knot, it can indicate a lack of independence in relationship.

2. The unraveling knot

It starts like honeymoon hug, but later partners untangle. This is actually a good thing, it shows that love and intimacy are definitely there, but independence is present as well. It usually happens (although not often) when couple has been together for a while

3. Spooning

We are all familiar with this one. Spooning indicates intimacy, trust and closeness in relationship. Although there is a lot of physical contact in this position and it’s very sensual, the erotic vibe of it is not as important as the feeling of comfort that it provides. Person who takes the role of “big spoon” feels protective of his partner and this way he/she is trying to create a safe zone for a loved one.

4. Loose spoon

This is a more popular variation of classic spooning. Couples who like to sleep in spoon position will choose this one after some time, simply because it’s more comfortable. On psychological level, this doesn’t mean something is going wrong between the two of you, it actually shows you trust each other and are comfortable to have some space between you, in bed and in life.

5. The Chase

It looks like spooning, but in this position one partner has turned back and moved away to the side of the bed, and the other one is playing the role of “chaser”. There are two ways to interpret this: this person needs more space in bed, or wants to be pursued by his partner.

6. Head on chest aka. the nuzzle

At the start of relationship or when the passions are rekindled, couples will sleep in this snuggling position. Partner who rests hand or head on the chest of other, shows healthy independence in relationship, but is still willing to be dependent on their partner. Usually this partner will place their leg on the body of the other, or they’ll intertwine their legs. Person who sleeps on back and hugs his partner is confident and offers protection. This position is open and is saying that partners are companions who trust each other.

7. The Shingles

When both partners sleep on their back, but one is placing their head on the other’s shoulder, this shows confidence and understanding in relationship.

8. The leg hug

This position can be interpreted in few ways. If just one partner is “hugging” it can mean that he/she needs attention from the other. If both of partners participate in this “hug” that’s a sign of balanced and comfortable relationship. In casual relationships, this often can be confusing, since some people don’t show their affection openly, so this can be either just a random contact or a “call” for closeness.

9. Back to back – touching

If you sleep back to back, but the butts are touching, don’t worry, you are good. This is very popular sleep position, especially among established couples. Each partner has its space, but there is a contact which speaks about closeness and sexual connection.

10. Back to back- no touching

If you and your partner usually hug when sleeping, this could be a red flag. With all that space between the two of you maybe it’s time for a conversation. On the other hand, maybe you cuddle in bed, but it’s just too warm to sleep skin on skin. Some couples don’t need much contact during the night, just a good rest, and there’s nothing wrong in their relationship.

Keep in mind that if you toss and turn a lot throughout the night, its natural if other person wants to keep more space between the two of you. This doesn’t indicate you have an underlying problem in relationship, instead it says you have bad sleeping manners.

11. Face to face – touching

If your heads are at the same level and touching, and your arms are tangled, this speaks about closeness, like-mindedness and general good atmosphere in relationship.

12. Face to face – not touching

This can be a sign of high emotional demands from both sides. Both partners are craving attention and intimacy, and both are doing nothing about it. You should listen to one another and talk about your feelings.

13. Sleeping on your stomach

When we sleep on our stomach we hide the front of our body, and that may be a sign of vulnerability, lack of sexual trust and anxiety. You should speak with your partner and if he is the one sleeping this way, use hugs to make them feel protected.

14. One partner dominates the bed

This is a classic case of power play. If one partner sleeps in a starfish position, and even pushes the other to the side of the mattress, it’s a cause for concern and honest conversation. This selfish position tells which partner is dominant in relationship. Also, take a look if your heads are at the same level. Partner whose head is closer to headboard is usually the one who feels like he is in control and has more confidence, while the partner whose head is positioned lower plays a submissive role and probably has a lack of confidence.

The following article Couple Sleep Positions Meaning was originally published on www.thesleepstudies.com

Sleep Dread aka. Fear Of Going To or Dying in Sleep – We Asked Experts About It

Sleep dread is real and nothing to be shrugged of. Over the past few years, we interviewed a few dozen of of sleep therapists and one of the questions was always regarding sleep dread – its causes, whether it’s a phobia or not, the forms it can take and finally, what you can do if you can relate to what you’ll read you’ll see below.

Having a good night’s sleep is vital for our overall health and daily functioning. During the 7, 8 or 9 hours, our brain process information gathered during the day and helps our body heal and re-energize.

Disturbance of this process night after night, leads to chronic discomfort, panic attacks, sleep disorders and it can develop into a sleep phobia known as “sleep dread.”

What’s causing the fear of going to sleep?

Sleep dread can be caused by number of reasons, including come conditions like PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders or fear of sleep paralysis – https://thesleepstudies.com/sleep-paralysis/ (if you already experienced episodes).

Most commonly, however, it’s a side effect of insomnia.

However, in most cases the main trigger is one simple, everyday thing- fear, irrational and exaggerated fear, to be precise.

How our body reacts to this

When we are scared, our body’s natural reaction is to activate the “flight or fight” mode. This is normal and necessary human reaction, and when it’s reasonable we can benefit from it.

But our sleep is time when we need to go completely opposite from it. Having this mode on when you need to rest is counterproductive. And that’s an understatement. When your mind is telling that you need to be prepared to run from a threat, you can’t rest.

If you do manage to fall asleep at some point, the brain will stay highly alerted during whole time, making the quality of sleep low. Because of the hyper arousal of your nervous system, you will feel more aware of your surroundings, and will probably have nightmares. In this case it’s common to wake up few times during the night, which breaks sleep cycle, so don’t be surprise when you get up in the morning feeling like you worked the graveyard shift.

When mornings feel everything but good

After sleeping in this state you wake up feeling less rested and refreshed. The brain not only didn’t get the chance to store all the data from previous day, but was infused with new information throughout the night.

This leaves you feeling tired, forgetful, and with weakened state of awareness, prone to injuries and accidents during the day. It’s easier to break a glass or cut yourself feeling this way, not to mention more serious stuff.

Bad quality of sleep is often a main reason for the poor performance at job or school, and it also affects our emotional state.

In the long term, disturbance of sleep can play a significant role in causing the variety of health problems, from mood disorders to heart diseases and stroke.

What causes sleep dread

Think about the quality of your life. If you are often isolated and your social life is close to non-existing, this can make you more subjective to influence of bad news. We are social beings; we need to be in touch with each others and share our thoughts and experiences. When a lot of ordinary good things are happening to you on a daily basis, you feel happier and calmer.

If you watch TV and read newspapers, you are probably up to date with all sorts of bad and disturbing news out there. It’s hard to avoid them, to be honest. The world is definitely not a rosy place these days.

This is not something that can be tossed aside. Remember, our brain process information, and the source of information is everywhere. If you think that doesn’t have any effect on you, think again.

Beside that, try to remember all of the movies and TV shows with violent and aggressive scenes in them. Personally, I’ve lost count. And if you are highly sensitive person, or have a wild imagination that likes to visit dark places, even worse. It can take you further and the dread can turn into fear of dying in sleep.

So, even if you’re not suffering from anxiety, or any other mental disorder per se, if you are scared to fall asleep for no real reason, that’s a problem that needs to be taken care of.

The fear of sleeping alone

If you are scared of sleeping because you have bad dreams, that’s one thing, but in most cases, sleep dread gets triggered when sleeping alone.

It’s proven that women are battling this problem more often than man. They usually don’t have trouble sleeping when their family members or partner are in the house. My friend once told me that she feels safer sleeping when “man is in the house”, and I am talking here about the girl that trained martial arts for years.

This irrational fear comes from the idea that we might get attacked during the night, and staying awake will keep us safe. When there are no men to protect us, we must rely on ourselves. This feeling of vulnerability makes our primal fears alive.

We can talk about the century’s old roll of women being a “weaker sex” embedded in our minds, but it’s not just that. For this we can also thank a huge number of movies with highly aggressive scenes that include women getting attacked in the middle of the night in their beds. We are not accusing anyone, this is a simple fact.

How to threat sleep dread and stop it from happening again

Bear in mind that even if you get rid of your fear for a night, or week, the feeling itself casts a very long shadow that can affect you for months or even years, and can make sleep dread episodes reoccur at any time.

This problem needs to be approached directly and systematically. You really need to work on this, by yourself or with doctor’s help.

It takes time, but it’s worth it.

Let’s start simple, small steps

Minimize the flow of violent images and stories that comes to your mind. If you watch a lot of horror movies or crime shows, stop doing that, or at least don’t watch them right before you go to bed. You don’t need to have a sleep phobia to feel frightened to fall asleep after watching some of those, so think logically. Good idea is to move the TV from your bedroom, if you have one there. If you really can’t stop watching movies at night, switch to something relaxing and funny.

Restrain yourself from short-term solutions, like sleeping with your TV on, or lights on, or asking your friend to stay the night. It may help you once, but not in the long run. You can’t erase the fear this way, it will keep coming back.

If you don’t exercise, this is something you really need to consider doing. Not just because of obvious health benefits, but as they say “make your body tired and the brain will follow”. When we exercise, our bodies release serotonin and dopamine, hormones that are responsible for feeling of happiness. With tired body and happy mind it’s a lot easier to hit the bed.

Meditation, positive affirmations and mindfulness have a strong positive influence on our mind. If you think that’s a bit silly, let’s talk about how silly it is to deprive yourself from sleep due to irrational thoughts.

Fight the bad thoughts with positive ones. You already know that the sleep dread is caused by fears that are not justified, that negative state of mind didn’t come from nowhere. Change the way you talk to yourself, and you will change the way you see the world. Practicing yoga, keeping a journal in which you can write down things you are grateful for every day, or just saying positive phrases few times a day like “I am safe in my home”, can be really helpful.

You should also work on your bedtime routine. Your sleep time should be sacred, literally. In general, your bedroom should be dark, well aired and peaceful, so that vibe can be transferred to you. Make your bedroom as cozy as possible, and avoid using computer or telephone before going to bed. Take a bath, or read a nice, relaxing book, or play some of your favorite music. There is even music for sleeping; tracks with calming sounds that help you fall asleep. If you like to sleep with radio on, you should do it, but because you are enjoying it, not because you are terrified of sleeping in silent room.

A more serious approach to sleep dread

In cases of anxiety disorders that affect sleeping and cause insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven to have great results. In sessions with the therapist the focus is on indentifying the fear and getting over it. Your doctor will lead you to confront the actual cause of the problem and together you will work on establishing a healthy sleeping routine. The key thing is to stick to the therapy even if it’s hard to handle in the beginning.

In some cases, medications like alpha-blockers are prescribed to keep the sympathetic nervous system under control.

We believe that consulting with your doctor is the way to go, and that with a right treatment you can overcome sleep dread. This is something it should be discussed with psychologist, especially if you are already battling some type of mental disorder. It can be solved and there is no need to panic.

If the situation is less serious, natural ways we talked about are proven to be effective (even doctors agree on this), and you should try at least one of them.

One step at a time…

We understand how troubling sleep dread can be, and that’s why we worked very carefully on this guide. We hope you will find it useful and follow the advices.

If you are experiencing the fear of sleep, or have a story related to it, please share it with us in the section below.

Don’t be scared to go to bed. Good night

The article Sleep Dread aka. Fear Of Going To or Dying in Sleep – We Asked Experts About It was originally published to www.thesleepstudies.com

Sleep Innovations Shiloh Review

The review of the Sleep Innovations Shiloh 12-inch memory foam mattress has been “in the pipe” for over 8 months now.

We took our time because we wanted to make sure that the analysis is the most complete it can possibly be.

We consulted experts (both of memory foam and sleep therapists), we gathered a large pool of information from owner feedback and we directly contacted people already sleeping on the Shiloh – as many of them as we could.

It took about 4000 work hours, but we believe that the detailed analysis you’ll see below is a one-stop shop on all the information you’ll ever meet about the Shiloh.

On the other hand, we made an effort to present the results in simple and concise way. The bottom line is that it should only take a few minutes of your time to get a good feel on whether the Shiloh might be the right mattress for you.

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Sleep Innovations Shiloh Review – all quality ratings

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It was clear from the get-go that the Sleep Innovations Shiloh is a top-tier mattress. We say that because for a product of this type (layered all-foam), there is one aspect that’s critically important and that’s the quality of the foam.

For an average buyer, a typical fact sheet can be confusing, misleading even. It’s easy to say that the foam is “high-quality.” But what does that mean to a person that’s not particularly savvy when it comes to the industry lingo?

Foam quality goes well beyond the density and firmness. That’s why the fact that we know the type of foam Sleep Innovation uses was an important factor.

Top to bottom US-made

Outsourcing is not a minus on its own but, based on what we’ve seen when it comes to memory foam, there is a pattern. The quality ratings of the foam with the same density and firmness start to vary with prolonged use.

We revisit and update the quality ratings at 1, 2 and 5-year marks. Based on what we’ve seen, the gap in ratings (shape retention and structural integrity) appears at these time milestones.

Statistically speaking, those ratings speak in favor of US-made foam. To be clear, we don’t want to make and blanket statements, and there are companies out there that import foam that stands its ground when compared to a US-made product.

To simplify – all we want to say here is that an average buyer can be more comfortable with spending money on US-made foam that passed all the rigorous testing and obtained the staple quality certificates.

That’s what the Shiloh is made of and, if you ask us, it’s a big plus.

What we expected to see

Having in mind that sleep innovations are making an effort in their advertising to stand out from the crowd by stressing that there is no one-size-fits-all mattress, we expected the Shiloh to be top-tier.

Why?

Because a company like this wouldn’t risk their reputation by putting a product on the market that’s sub-par compared to the manufacturers they’re trying to distinguish themselves from.

What do we mean by that?

The Shiloh is designed to be a good fit for most people. In a market where many companies simply make one mattress and advertise it as one-size-fits-all, Sleep Innovations is an exception.

They make a range of mattresses for different body frames. The Shiloh is their flagship product with the widest appeal – average to large person.

In other words – it’s designed to find the sweet spot between comfort and support.

Airflow and heat dissipation of the Sleep Innovations Shiloh 12-inch

The foam used to make the Shiloh is patented, with cell structure designed to improve airflow and heat dissipation.

We wouldn’t go as far as describing it as “cooling”, but the heat dissipation numbers we’ve seen do justify the claims the company makes. In that quality aspect, it belongs to the top 5% of mattresses we ever analyzed.

Firmness vs. support

If you prefer an extra soft feel, this mattress might not be right for you. In terms of firmness, we would describe it as medium.

That doesn’t mean much in its own

When you’re looking to buy a mattress, the proper analysis should include “firmness versus support” rather than each of these separately.

Based on the pool of numbers we have, we’d say that 8 out of 10 people will find this mattress to be “just right.”

Here’s why

Shiloh is not just a lump of foam. The layers work together to balance between firmness and support.

This means that the top layer (2.5 inches thick SureTemp foam) is there to allow your shoulders and hips to sink just enough for proper spinal alignment. The SureTemp foam is trademarked by Sleep Innovations and 3rd-party tested to do what the company claims in the advertising.

The base layer is denser and thicker (9.5 inches). It’s the base that’s “responsible” for the structural integrity, shape retention and support.

To be more precise

Putting it simply – for body frames ranging from medium to large, the Shiloh is at the sweet spot. The base is just firm enough so that your spine doesn’t arch downwards, while the top has enough “give” to prevent the spine arching upwards.

That especially goes for side and back sleepers.

Hot versus cold sleepers

In terms of heat dissipation, the only scenario where Shiloh might not feel right is if you’re an especially cold sleeper and the temperature of your bedroom is also low.

In all other scenarios, the mattress does a solid job of both dissipating heat and not trapping the cold. The user satisfaction numbers we’ve seen were slightly higher with people more concerned about heat retention.

Sagging and edge support

Before we get into this, let us this mention that we have separate statistical model when we rate this quality aspect in all-foam models (different formulas from those we use for innerspring and hybrids).

Why?

It’s because you can’t reasonably expect the same level of edge support from foam and mattresses that have a thick wire encircling the edges.

To put it simply – it only makes sense to compare apples to apples.

With that said, this mattress belongs in the top 10% in its category.

What this means for you

It means that the edge support is nothing to write home about, but we also don’t see it as a red flag. It’s solid enough to sit on the edges as you preparing for sleep, but you might find it too soft to read a book or watch TV show while seated on the very edge.

Motion isolation of the – only a secondary factor

This is where Shiloh truly shines. With the layered structure in mind, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

To be honest, the motion isolation properties contribute less towards our final ratings than other quality factors. We all remember those commercials with a bowling ball dropping on a mattress without spilling a glass of wine.

It is impressive when you see it, but how many times did you actually wake up because your sleep partner was moving too much. Our guess is – not many.

The bottom line here is that Shiloh has excellent motion isolation properties, but we wanted to be clear that we find other quality aspects more important.

Durability and longevity of the Sleep Innovations Shiloh 12-inch

There’s confusion with the terminology here and we want to address that first. You might see a Sleep Innovations Shiloh review on other sites lumping these two aspects together, which is not the way to go about it.

Here’s difference

Durability describes how much pressure and weight a mattress can take without compromising the structural integrity.

Longevity describes, as the word itself indicates, how long the mattress is expected to live.

As we mentioned, our ratings reflect 1, 2 and 5-year milestones.

Rating a mattress in these two categories is tricky because we don’t have enough clear-cut data and it comes down to the warranty terms.

Let’s try to be as precise as we can

Typically, this type of mattress from other brands is covered by a 10 year warranty (even the ones that cost much more).

We’re stressing that because Shiloh comes with a 20-year warranty. Sleep Innovations estimates the serviceability the last as long as 15 years (given that you sleep on it every night).

Off-gassing, smell and safety certification

This is an important one because it’s not only about the smell. It’s more about long-term safety.

This is where the fact that the foam is US-made following strict safety standards is a big plus for the Shiloh.

The crucial part here is that it carries the Centripur label, which means that it’s tested to be free of:

• Traces of heavy metals (mercury, lead, etc.)
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs – these are flame retardant chemicals and while Shiloh is flame-retardant, none of these are used in manufacturing.
• Phthalates
• Ozone depleting chemicals
• Volatile Organic Compounds (these are typically responsible for significant off-gassing)

Even the manufacturing process is environment-friendly. For the finished product that will arrive at your doorstep, this is not a big deal. But if you like the idea of sleeping on a mattress that was made with minimal footprint on the environment, this does deserve a mention.

Mandatory factory air out

With most foam products, there will be an initial smell that lingers around your bedroom. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few months to dissipate.

None of that here

This is one of the few mattresses we’ve seen with a mandatory factory airing out.

For you, this means that there is no initial smell and no need to wait or air out the mattress on your own. That part is taken care of in the factory and the product is shipped with zero smell.

No need for add-ons

We see this one way to often – you get the mattress and your enthusiasm about it is quickly curbed because you feel you need an extra topper or pad for it (most often because it feels too hot).

Here, the top layer is designed to eliminate the need for a topper. In fact, the company advises against using any add-ons because they can interfere with the breathability.

Maintenance

Since the structure is not symmetrical, the mattress should not be flipped.

Many of us are still trapped and the perception that flipping a mattress will prolong the lifespan. With modern mattress technologies and materials, it’s not so simple.

Here’s why

With mattresses that shouldn’t be flipped, the manufacturer has to be extra careful, especially when they offer a 20-year warranty.

This means that they have to make sure that the structure can take the prolonged use and maintain shape. Otherwise, they would be faced with people claiming their warranties too often, which would affect their bottom line.

The important part here is that the numbers we’ve seen when it comes to foam breaking or develop indentations with prolonged every-night use are low.

Rotation

The mattress is symmetrical (top to bottom) which means that you can rotate it but, based on what we’ve seen, the number of people who feel the need to do it is very low with the Shiloh.

This ties into the analysis above and means that the number of people who saw structural issues is also low.

To put it simply – there are no indentations or the uneven surfaces forming over time that would call for the mattress to be rotated.

What does the warranty cover?

When you see a long warranty like this, you should be careful and make sure that you read the fine print. In some cases, a company can “dilute” the warranty terms and you might end up with additional cost when making the claim.

We looked closely and saw no red lights here, the company does what it promises – covering the full cost related to any warranty claim (replacing or repairing the bed).

These terms cover any issues with the fabric, stitching and, most importantly, potential structural defects.

Bounce-back – secondary

What we mean by “bounce-back” is the time it takes for the surface to get back to its original shape when you get up.

There are two ways to look at this:

The first one is absolute (comparing it to every mattress out there) and the second one is comparing it to mattresses in its price range.

If you do the former, it’s fair to say that there are products out there with higher bounce-back ratings. They do, however, cost much more.

If you do the latter, this puts the Shiloh in the top five products in its price range.

Similar to the motion isolation, we don’t see the bounce back is a crucial factor simply because nobody ever said, “I got up to go to the bathroom and when I got back my mattress wasn’t completely flat.”

That’s why our statistical model includes the bounce-back only as a secondary factor.

The “history”

The mattress hit the market back in 2010 (May 15, to be more precise) and was initially known as the Sleep Innovations SureTemp. So if you see it under that name, don’t get confused, it’s the same mattress.

The name SureTemp was a way for Sleep Innovations to stress the trademarked foam used for the top layer.

Cover quality

Wear and tear at the seams – testing the stitches

The number of garment issues reported by the owners we talked to was lower than those we’ve seen in 93% of other mattresses.

To be subjective for a moment, we prefer the quilted cover over the smooth one. It feels more rugged and durable and looks more luxurious. But when it comes to the numbers, we’ve seen no substantial difference in abrasion %s or stitching.

We rate the quilted cover at 92/100 and the smooth one at 90/100. These numbers are based more on our experience than the actual testing (the data pool we had here wasn’t big enough to do that). Apart from the aesthetic appeal, we find that the rugged covers are typically superior in terms of stain release.

Value for money

When all said and done, this is the category that probably does the best job of reflecting overall quality.

If you didn’t take the time to read the full analysis, let’s reiterate.

In most quality aspects, the Shiloh 12-inch performed superiorly compared to mattresses in its price range and, most of the time, it tested just as well as mattresses that cost anywhere from the 200 to 400% more.

Our rating of “value for money” is 95/100, which puts it in the top 6%.

We have five descriptive categories that we use to rank mattresses in terms of value and the Shiloh belongs to the top one “Worth every penny and then some.”

Updates to our Sleep Innovations Shiloh review

As per our regular schedule, we update the ratings quarterly, unless we see an indication of a significant quality change or learn about a change in the manufacturing practices.

We do it to make sure that our ratings always reflect the actual situation on the market. This means that you can be confident that the information you’re seeing is fresh and relevant.

If you have questions or an experience you’d like to share (if you already own this mattress or if you get it after reading this), do get in touch, we have a $1000 yearly giveaway of sleep product for all interviewees who contribute to making our ratings more accurate.

To join it, all you have to do is contact us and we’ll take it from there.

Stay smart,

The Sleep Studies team

Sleep Innovations Shiloh Review is republished from TSS

How to sleep with long hair – Best way to win the “tangled battle”

Each person with long hair knows this problem very well. You go to bed and every night you are “attacked” by your own hair. Or you have a peaceful night, but in the morning your hair looks flat and lifeless, your locks are squashed and you desperately want to call your hairdresser, but usually there is no time.

Here, we’re going to present you with some solutions that might help you win this tangled battle.

How to sleep with long hair – our list of 7 tips

Her majesty- the bun

I have long hair and this is my personal favorite. It’s the easiest and quickest method to keep my hair tamed during the night, and it doesn’t change the shape much. It also looks really cute when I wake up (Brigitte Bardot style).

Of course, some people find it uncomfortable, and it can be, especially if you have a really long hair. Good solution for that can be putting the bun really high or maybe even leaning in front of your head. Also, bedtime hairstyles are probably the only fashion approved opportunity to use scrunchies and not elastic bands, since they are a lot less damaging to your hair.

Braid it all the way

If your hair is very long and it’s not layered this could work great for you. It takes more time to make, and some time to practice if you are not familiar with it, but it gets easier and faster after the first couple of times.

Do it on dry hair, leave some of it upbraided in the bottom and make it loose to avoid adding stress to your hair and split ends. This is also a great way to get a waved hairdo if you want to, and if you have locks it might get them tamed and more defined.

Some of my friends do have a problem sleeping with braids on, because it can make hair frizzy, but that depends of quality and type of your hair. It would be best if you can try braiding for one night and see if it works out for you. Also, think about using some anti-frizz hair product, especially if you have a problem with that in general.

Keep it low

If your hair is medium length, you could probably benefit the most from this quick solution. Just tie your hair into a low ponytail, it will keep it from your face and it will be less tangled in the morning.

It doesn’t really do much in comparison to the “magic of the braid” and your hair might loose its volume, especially in the roots, due to all of the hair weight just falling down flat. In all the scenarios above, it’s best to use scrunchies, or elastic bands with no metal parts on it (very important), because they can damage the hair.

Keep it high or bring some pineapple

A great option if you want volume especially at your roots. High ponytail keeps your locks from being squashed, your hair is out of your way and, as mentioned, volume won’t be something you should worry about.

The downside is that it can put pressure on your roots so they might ache.

The pineapple is a great alternative. You need a clip with a big grip to loosely grasp the hair at the top of your head. This way you’ll avoid the stress that binding inflicts on your hair and you’ll have a nice hairstyle the next day.

Stick with the loose hair

If you don’t have a problem tossing around much in your sleep, this could actually work out nice for you.

If you manage to sleep with your hair falling from the side of your bed, you will keep you locks intact. You won’t have to tie up anything, it’s very comfortable, but you hair is surely going to get tangled, at least a bit. This might help if you have oily scalp, because it let’s your hair breathe.

Cover it

This is maybe the best option for layered hair that refuses to stay in ponytails. It’s best if you use satin cap or a big scarf.

If you go for the cap, fold the edge of the cap all the way so you don’t have an imprint of the elastic band on your forehead. It might be a problem finding one that won’t slip off your head during the night.

If you go for the scarf, there are a lot of YouTube tutorials teaching you ways to tie it. It looks very fashionable actually, so you might want to bring that look outside of your bedroom. The nightcap, however, will make you look silly, for sure, but if it’s comfortable who cares, right?

Nights in white (or any) satin

Speaking of satin, no matter how long your hair is, satin or silk pillowcases are the best to sleep on. They are the least damaging materials for your hair and, let’s be honest, satin does give a touch of luxury to your bedroom, and a little luxury never hurt nobody.

Think about investing in one.

You can see our recommendations here – https://thesleepstudies.com/best-silk-pillowcases-sheets-comforter/

Back to you

Maybe you’ll choose to stick with one style that you are most comfortable with, or you’ll decide to change between the styles and that way you’ll end up with different hairdos each morning.

Personally, I’m all about diversity.

Whatever works the best for you is the way to go, but try some of these and have fun with it.

The article How to sleep with long hair – Best way to win the “tangled battle” is available on https://thesleepstudies.com/

Vellux blanket

If you’re in the market for a Vellux blanket, your search ends here.

The quality analysis you’re about to see is fruit of over 6, 000 work hours.

It took us about 7 months to put this guide together – we interviewed material technology engineers and analyzed over 3000 user experiences.

We also made an effort to include different types and sizes (from the Original Vellux to the premium plush designs in all sizes – Twin, Queen and King).

Vellux blankets – info of Top 5

Vellux Original blanket

This is the blanket that most people have in mind when they mention Vellux. It’s the staple product from the company and by far the most popular.

The most likely reason for that is the balance between price and quality.

The company advertises this blanket as “America’s most trusted.” While we’re not sure about the statistics they used to make the claim, it definitely seems to have a solid backing user satisfaction numbers we’ve seen in our analysis.

Current user satisfaction rating of the Vellux Plush blanket is 87%. This means that nine out of 10 people who get it found it to be worth the money.

The shape retention, durability and longevity put it in the top 5% of all blankets we reviewed (respectively rated at 92, 93 and 90 out of 100).

You can see what owners are saying about the Original Vellux below.

Vellux plush blanket

The runner-up in popularity among users is the Vellux Plush.

The difference between the plush and the Original comes down to the weight and loft. The plush is a bit heavier per square inch and extra cozy.

The density of the Plush is a bit higher – 330 GSM (grams per square meter). This makes it about 50% heavier than the Original.

Who will choose it?

The answer to that is in the analysis above – it will be the choice of people who prefer the safe and calming feel of a heavy weight blanket.

The difference in all other quality aspects, including price, is nothing to write home about. It costs a peg more, but we don’t see the slightest difference being any kind of an influence to a purchase decision.

The user satisfaction is practically the same as that of the Original.

Vellux Micro – the lightest

The only Vellux labeled as “lightweight” is the Micro.

It weighs 2 pounds (full/queen size), which is slightly lighter than the Original and about 60% lighter than the Plush.

Both sides are brushed, making it extra soft and resistant to pilling.

Who will choose it?

It will be the choice of people who prefer light blankets.

Let us also mention that the price point is the lowest of all the blankets we listed here.

Vellux Lux blanket – heaviest & currently rated highest by owners

The Plush Lux is the heaviest product on the list. The Queen size weighs 5.2 pounds.

The added weight comes from the extra loft filled with premium poly fibers.

The finish velvet -like finish is not compromised by the extra weight.

Who will choose it?

The Vellux Plush Lux is currently the highest-rated product on the list (by the users) – 96/100, in spite of the fact that the cost a bit more than the standard Plush or the Original.

We have been reviewing sleep products for more depth than a decade now and we only seen user satisfaction this high in a handful of them. That’s probably all you need to know about the Plush Lux.

Read more:

Vellux Sheared Mink

In terms of weight, this blanket is somewhere between the Plush and the Plush Lux.

The Queen weighs 4.35 pounds and the King size weighs 5.25 lbs.

To density (GSM) is also somewhere in-between – 378 grams per square meter.

Bottom line

The user satisfaction numbers of Sheared Mink are second only to the Plush Lux (95 vs. 96 %).

Size per size, the price point is slightly lower than the Lux.

Reference info

What is it made of?

Vellux is made of polyurethane.

In the manufacturing process, two layers of polyurethane are reinforced with webbing layer or scrim bonded between them. After that, an adhesive is added, which gives the base color of the blanket & nylon fibers, that are passed trough the electrostatic field, are added to the adhesive. The electrostatic field binds the fibers. This is the reason why these blankets are so soft.

Featuring a 1 inch two needle self hem way of sewing, these blankets do not come in bound or stitched alternatives.

The best thing about these blankets is their durability. They can be machined washed many times, and there will be no shrinking, pilling or any other problem, that we often have with blankets made from other fabrics.

Vellux Original blanket – frequently asked questions

There was a problem with chemical smell when you first open the blanket? What to do about it?

Machine washing and airing it out should remove any odor your blanket may have. They also become even softer after wash.

Will this blanket be enough to keep you warm in below zero temperatures?

This usually depends on the heating in your house. My wife is always cold, so she uses another cover on top of the blanket.

Is this blanket dust mite proof?

Yes. As we said, the these blankets are hypoallergenic, there for it’s perfect if you have allergies.

Does this blanket fit the king size bed?

The one in king size does.

Can I use this blanket through all seasons?

Yes, absolutely, you can use it all year long. It’s warm, but really light weighted, so using it in the spring won’t keep you over heated.

Is this blanket water resistant?

No. Fabric is not treated for water resistance.

Where is it made?

It’s imported (outsourced to China). This is not a negative per se. Over the past decade we’ve been monitoring the manufacturing practices of different companies, especially the outsourcing facilities and quality control. We know the facilities the company uses and we don’t have any negatives to report about the manufacturing.

Repair

You should try to stitch it together using a needle and a matching thread. If that doesn’t help, take it to the tailor’s.

Would this blanket work as a rug, if I include a rug pad underneath it?

We’d definitely say “no”.

Is there a possibility for the blanket to be destroyed in the washing machine?

They are made to be machine washed. Although, there is a possibility that something might happen to it, but that has more to do with a washing machine. If you have a machine that tends to make some problems, try using a laundry bag. Just put a blanket in it and wash it that way.

Vellux blanket King size

Since we first published the guide, one of the most common questions we’ve been receiving is about the size available – especially the King.
The short answer is that all the products that we listed are available in three sizes: Twin, Full /Queen and King.

Vellux blanket on Amazon

Another common question is where to get to the listed products and be sure that you’re getting the real deal.

Most major online retailers (like Amazon) and store chains like Walmart, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Kohl’s etc carry the whole Vellux line.

Storage

The important part about storage is avoiding the use of vacuum bags. We have seen user experiences reporting that, if left without air or in a hot space for prolonged periods of time can damage them (even de-laminate the whole thing).

So avoid airtight bags and hot-area storage.

Ask us anything

If you still have question or feel like there’s information we haven’t covered in the guide above, feel free to ask us anything that pops to mind. To do it, either use the comment section or email us directly.

You’ll hear back from us within a day.

The Sleep Studies Team

Vellux blanket is available on TheSleepStudies

Wool blanket

Wool blanket choices that you’ll see in this guide are a result of over 4,000 work hours.

We started the work about 18 months ago by consulting three material technology engineers and combined their expertise on wool quality with statistical analysis of user satisfaction with the products. We looked at over 110 blankets and rated them in five quality categories.

We made an effort to include different types of products, so no matter what kind of blanket you’re looking for, we’re confident that you find it among our top picks.

Best wool blanket – top 16 by type, intended use, design and size

Premium 100% wool blanket for home use – our top pick

If you’re  looking for a classic design for your bed, the search begins and ends with Poyet Motte.

It is company with tradition dating back to 1839 and it’s the leading European manufacturer of premium blankets, including wool. If you don’t know much about interpreting the label, it’s easy for company to engage in imprecise advertising (at best) and misleading at worst.

Typically, the more precise the fact sheet is, the higher the quality.

There are 4 key aspects to look for here:

• how fine the wool fibers are
• what’s the density (GSM – grams per square meter)
• whether the wool is virgin or recycled
• tightness of the weave – you can judge it by comparing the GSM and the thickness of the fibers

Poyet Motte is very precise about all 4 quality aspects:

• Fine fibers – 33 micron
• Weight and density – 500 GSM
• Virgin wool

All the reputable companies will typically list the latter two, but it’s rare to see a precise listing of how fine the wool fibers are. In that aspect, Poyet Motte is an exception the most positive sense of the word.

The one downside that we can think of here is the scarcity of Poyet Motte – we’ve seen them go out of stock a few times while compiling this guide.

It goes without saying that this kind of work quality is more expensive than competing products but, in our opinion, if you end up being a proud owner of a Poyet Motte, it won’t take long to forget the few extra dollars invested.

You can see whether your preferred color and size is currently available and read what owners are saying about Poyet Motte by following the links below.

Merino wool blanket – Woolly Mammoth Stargazer

Woolly Mammoth is a company specializing in wool-products and the Stargazer is one of the most popular items.

We rarely see user satisfaction this high and we’ve been reviewing and testing sleep-related products and blankets for over a decade now.

The Stargazer is a 80% Merino wool (virgin), meaning that the wool used is not recycled. This is an important point to make any to see a company not explicitly listing that the wool is a virgin, it probably means that it’s been recycled.

The fact that it’s not 100% Merino wool blanket is not a minus in this case, because the small amount of weft and acrylic added is there so that the blanket can better retain shape and be easier to clean.
The Stargazer belongs to the Farmhouse collection, which is a premium series of Woolly Mammoth products. Each of the blankets from the series is brushed which adds a soft, lofty finish.

Bottom line

As mentioned above, blankets with user satisfaction this high (currently 93%) are scarce, and when you do find one, the cost much more than the stargazer.

That’s why the blanket is rated at 95/100 in the value for money category and 94/100 overall.

It measures 66 x 90 “and it’s available in six colors / plaid designs.

Military Merino wool blanket – our choice – the Company Explorer

Before we get to the quality analysis, let’s define what we mean by “military” here.

Further down in the guide you’ll find blankets from the military surplus – this is not one of them. The Company Explorer is a premium product designed in military style and it’s meant to be used for and outdoor activities – from camping and hiking to bush craft. That’s why it is especially popular among camping and preparedness enthusiasts.

Similarly to the Stargazer, the idea behind the composition of this blanket is shape retention and durability. It’s 80% Virgin Merino wool with the remaining 20% being the combo of warp, weft and acrylic.
Because it’s intended for outdoor use, the texture has a milled finish with a hefty double stitching. This kind of structure doesn’t take away from the warmth, but makes it thinner and smaller to pack.

Who will choose the Company Explorer?

Among the outdoors and camping wool blankets, the Company Explorer stands alone with a user satisfaction rating of 92% and an overall rating of 91/100.

You can see what’s owners are saying about it by following the links below.

EKTOS 100 % military wool blanket for camping, emergency preparedness & survival (big)

The runner-up in the category of outdoor use is EKTOS.

The main difference between the Ektos and the Company Explorer we talked about above is that Ektos is 100% wool and the finish is a bit more rugged. It’s large, thick and heavy, but to with a soft finish (66 x 90 “, 5.5 pounds).

Finally, this heavy military wool blanket is washable (hand or machine).

Along with the Company Explorer, Ektos is one of the most popular blankets for outdoor use. You can see the experiences of the owners by clicking on one of the two links below.

Military wool blanket (surplus) – Arcturus

When we labeled the Company Explorer as “military”, we also explained that it doesn’t come from the surplus and promised to recommend one that does.

Our top pick here is the Arcturus. Being a surplus means that the price point of this military wool blanket is lower compared to similar products.

It goes without saying that surplus grade wool is second to none in terms of wool quality (550 GSM density), but what stands out about the Arcturus is the appearance and the soft finish.

This is what makes it a great choice for both home and camping use. It’s 88 inches long , 64 inches wide and weighs slightly over 4 pounds.

Wool throw blanket – the Highland tartar

Our top pick among wool throw blankets is the premium Highland Tartar (100% sheep wool).

The company making it (Prince of Scots) advertises the Highland Tartar as a blanket made to be a family heirloom. It’s made and imported from England. All the designs currently available are checkered (plaid), ranging from vibrant color combos of red, yellow and green to calming grays and browns.

If you’re looking for a picnic blanket or an accent throw for your sofa, your search probably ends here. We found no better quality to price ratio.

The runner-up in the wool throw blanket category

The second best wool blanket among throw designs comes from well known manufacturer – Pendleton.

The Pendleton Eco-wise wool throw is similar to the Highland tartar in many ways. It is 100% sheep wool, woven and shipped from the USA.

The plaid designs and fringes are a bit more adjusted compared to the Highland tartar, which means that it will work better with minimalist interiors.

Our overall rating of the Pendleton Eco-wise wool throw blanket are 90/100.

Alpaca wool blanket and throw recommendations – Putuco & AndeanSun

If you’re looking for genuine alpaca wool blanket, you should be especially careful because there are many counterfeits out there.

A company may advertise their blanket as “alpaca wool” but include other (cheaper) fabrics. That’s why you should read the fine print.

It’s also the reason why we had a hard time in this category and found very few products that we can recommend with a straight face. Among them, the AndeanSun stands out both in price to quality ratio and user satisfaction.

Our top pick among full-size alpaca wool blankets (Twin, Queen and King) is that the genuine Peru-made Putuco, while our recommendation among alpaca throws is the AndeanSun.

You can see the designs below, followed by links to the original products.

Swiss Army and Italian – NOS surplus military wool blanket

The category of Italian wool gave us a bit of a hard time since the weren’t many high-quality products available. There were blankets with the words “Italian” in the name, but as soon as you did a bit deeper you’d find that the products are not the real deal.

Out the blankets that turned out to be genuine Italian wool, our top pick is a product coming from a company counter-intuitively named “Swiss Link”. It might sound odd while it’s anything but. Swiss Link specializes in products of this type (army-related).

For us, it doesn’t come as a surprise since we know the company from the time we researched ghillie pants and jackets. They only sell a handful of products and their staples are a few Swiss Army wool blankets and this Italian military surplus.

This blanket is imported, it’s super heavy and 100% wool. The current user satisfaction percentage is 88, and our overall rating is 89/100.

You shouldn’t take our word for it, but do your own rereading on it. You can do so by clicking on one of two links below and reading more about what the owners are saying (we’re also providing doing to their Swiss army style blanket).

Icelandic wool – ICEWEAR Astros blanket & LakeMono throw

In the category of Icelandic wool, two products stand out.

One of them is 100% Icelandic wool (manufactured and shipped from Iceland) – ICEWEAR Astros, and the other one is a stylish throw knit t from acrylic microfiber Iceland wool – the LakeMono. The latter comes in two styles (chenille and corrugated).

It’s only natural that the ICEWEAR Astros costs more since it’s a premium product. You can read more about the two below.

Wool saddle pad & blanket

The category of wool saddle blankets & pads gave us a bit of a hard time, because we weren’t sure how to present our top picks and cover the variety of styles available (from the western felt styles similar to the diamond wool saddle pads to traditional Navajo patterns).

Without relying too much on our guesswork, we decided to simply ask for the feedback of our readers and did a few email interviews with horse-riding and equine experts.

We believe that allowed us to present exactly the types of several blankets that the majority of our readers will be interested in. You can see the details in the table below.

Irish wool

This category was pretty straightforward because there was one product that obviously stood out from the get-go. It’s the John Hanly Irish wool blanket.

We say “obvious” because none of the other Irish wool products we looked at were even close in terms of the user satisfaction percentage – 97 %. The John Hanly plaid is Ireland-made and it’s as genuine as they come.

The five color combos are designed to fit any color scheme that you might have going in your space.

Chunky & heavy wool blanket

Our top pick among chunky designs is the Acarpo HandWoven.

The competition here was pretty stiff with a few products being praised by the owners. What gave Acarpo an edge is selection of colors and sizes and, most importantly, the value for money.

Big and heavy wool blankets and throws from chunky yarn, have been all the rage in the interior design arena for the past couple of years. When a frenzy like that happens, the market becomes confusing, primarily in terms of prices.

In those circumstances, you can easily find yourself paying for the label or a brand. That’s why we decided to ignore brands and look for the best balance between quality and price. We found it in the Acarpo.

Types of wool and quality aspects

Sheep Wool

As you know, there are many breeds of sheep and ways to classify wool fibers (fine, down, medium, long, double-coated).

In general, this is a traditional fiber, made from wool of any sheep, and on clothes labels marked simply as wool. It is more available and less expensive than other types. It goes without saying that merino wool blankets are by far the most popular.

The main characteristics are:

• Great resilience. It can last longer than synthetic materials.
• Ability to absorb dye without using chemicals.
• Works as a great thermal insulator, perfect for the winter. It absorbs the moisture, but repels liquid.
• Wide range of usage (anything from clothes to decorative fabrics).
• Unless we are talking about huge flame, the wool naturally resists fire and self-extinguishes.
• It can cause itchiness, depending on the thickness of the fibers, but that can be solved using chemicals to treat the wool or mixing it with other fibers.
• It can shrink and pill, so it needs to be taken care of properly.

Type of sheep wool fibers:

Fine

Due to its softness, it’s used to make clothes that will be in a direct contact with our skin. If you are into knitting, this is the yarn you will probably use.

Fleece is very refined, elastic and consistent, and has a great felting ability and memory. The downside is that is not as strong as other ones, so not much stress is needed to tear a fabric.

Down

Matte to appearance, this type of wool is very resilient and elastic. Used to make fine knitted or woven fabrics.

Medium

It stands on a halfway between finer and stronger types of wool. The memory and elasticity are average, which makes it perfect for producing a wide range of woolen things. It is used for everything, from scarves to tweeds.

Long

The fibers of this type of wool are long, draped, strong and often silky to touch. They are very easy to dye, although sheep breeds with this type of wool have exceptional range of natural colors.

Long wool is not as elastic as the previous types we mentioned, but it has a nice memory.

Primitive or Double-coated

The strongest type of fleece, used to make outerwear, rugs, carpets… Usually, these breed of sheep have this bulky, strong outer part of wool to protect themselves from the weather, and underneath a finer undercoat.
It’s often blended with other types of wool for better texture.

Lamb

This is the wool obtained from the first shearing of sheep, usually around the age of 7 months. The length of this virgin hair fleece is around 50mm.

This wool is one of the softest and finest, very resilient and silky to touch.
The price for it is higher than for the regular sheep wool, since you can only once shear a lamb’s baby hair.

Merino wool blanket

Originating from Spain, now mainly produced in Australia and New Zealand, this is the most popular type of sheep wool in the world.

Since the wool of Merino sheep contains lanolin (which is used in cosmetics industry), it needs to be washed and rinsed in cycles to get rid of it. At the end of that long process, end result is a half of the initial fleece, which makes this wool expensive.

Nevertheless, the 4.5 inches staples of wool are so fine (superfine Merino wool goes even down to 17 microns) and soft to touch, that this wool is used for making some of the most luxurious pieces of clothing and bedding, which always has their buyers.

It is an excellent thermo-regulator, so you can wear garments made from this wool when it’s hot or cold, even in the gym, due to its moisture-repellent properties. It is known to be fire-resistant and anti-static. Today, most of the 100 % merino wool blankets are imported (the same goes for alpaca).

Cashmere

This luxurious, super-fine material (around 18 microns in diameter) owes its high price to the painstaking process of obtaining the wool from cashmere goats. The cashmere used comes from the undercoat in the neck region of the goat and it has to be combed over regularly.

The wool itself has lightness and resilience and the fibers are very delicate and soft. It provides amazing insulation, so you can wear cashmere cardigans in the spring, and you won’t get overheated.

Mohair

Mohair is obtained from Angora goat (don’t confuse it with angora wool) and it’s stronger and smoother than sheep wool, but not as soft and delicate like cashmere, for example. It’s easy to wash, which is a huge plus, of course.

This wool has a specific sheen to it, and it’s considered to be a luxurious material. Although it absorbs dye really well, the natural shades can be extremely beautiful. It’s often blended with sheep or other types of wool to make light-weight but warm pieces of clothes.

As mentioned, it’s not the softest of the wool fabrics, but it is one of the warmest, so mixing it with other materials can balance the flaws.

It’s used in producing anything from scarves and hats to carpets and decorative things for homes.

Angora

The finest (10-15 microns) and softest of the wool fibers comes from the Angora rabbit, to be precise, his undercoat. The most popular types of Angora rabbits come from Europe, but they are domesticated and grown all over the world.

The production of angora is small and very demanding in terms of time and money. There are, also, ethical questions raised around it, since sometimes the rabbits have to be kept alone, in darkness, to protect their undercoat.

The rabbits have to be combed regularly, and the hair is obtained by plucking or shearing. Plucking takes more time and energy, but the end result is finer wool. Angora rabbits grow hair quickly, but due to their small size they can’t produce much wool (around 400 grams and below, a year)

The yarn itself is soft, fluffy and silky. The fibers are hollow, which makes the wool lighter and warmer, but with a low resilience.

To get more stability to the fabric, angora wool is usually blended with other materials (cashmere wool or nylon). The 100% angora garment would be too warm to wear, so blending it is a great option, and it also lowers the price of the angora wool products.

Alpaca wool blanket

This fabric comes from Alpaca, animal originating from South America, although it can be made from similar wool, like mohair. Fibers can range from 15 to 40 microns and that effect the levels of softness and itchiness.

The finer, silky fibers (like baby alpaca wool) are used to make clothes. Alpaca wool is often mixed with Merino, to get more draping quality, due to its stiffness.

Naturally, the Alpacas exist in very wide range of beautiful colors and shades, although the wool can be dyed. This wool is hypoallergenic, because it contains no lanolin, and is baby and kids friendly.

Updates to the guide on best wool blankets

It’s our policy to regularly update all our guide that recommend products. To stay on top of things, we do it quarterly, unless we see a “red light” that can trigger an unscheduled update (typically a significant change in ratings of a specific product).

Finally, feel free to reach out with any questions you might have – you can do it by commenting below or dropping us an email. You can expect a response within a day.

Stay smart,

The Sleep Studies team

Wool blanket was first published to The Sleep Studies Research

Best Toddler Travel Bed – Top 5 Kids & Toddler Air Mattresses

Over the past few years (since we first published the guide on our top picks among kids and toddler air mattresses) we have seen very little change at the very top.

The sample of data that the ratings you’re about to see are based on did significantly grow, making the ratings more reliable, but we are yet to see significant shifts in the top 5 picks.

The ratings below are a result of over 2000 work hours (just counting our in-house work on analyzing the user reviews), so it’s fair to say that our top picks are a pretty accurate representation of the products out there. We hope you find the analysis helpful in making the right choice.

Best toddler travel beds – Top 5

1. Aerobed for kids
2. Shrunks Tuckaire
3. Hiccapop
4. Intex kids inflatable travel bed set
5. Coleman Kids EasyStay

Aerobed for kids

This update marks two years of the Aerobed for kids dominating this category.

With the user satisfaction rating of 91% and an overall rating of 92 out of 100, Aerobed for kids is currently in a comfortable lead with a gap of hefty 2 points in the overall ratings over the runner-up – Shrunks Tuckaire.

As you can see in the ratings below, it’s the quality (durability and longevity) of the material used that primarily stand out. The market of toddler air mattresses is not a huge one & most of the bigger companies have chosen not to dabble in it, which is probably what gave Aerobed (being the well-known and trusted company it is) an extra edge over the closest competitors.

Details:

Age range – 4+ years
Dimensions of the slip surface measured side-to-side – 50×25 inches
Height of the safety cushion – 4 inches
Type of pump – electric, included
Inflation time – under one minute

Who will choose Aerobed for kids?

This bed is by far the most popular among parents in spite of the fact that there are cheaper options out there. It only makes sense because, when it comes to any product that will be in direct contact with your kids, nothing trumps safety and 10 or 20 dollars don’t make much of a difference for most parents.

The doesn’t mean that the other inflatables we have chosen for the top five are not safe (the safety standards are particularly strict when it comes to kids), but there is something comforting in knowing that a bed comes from a reputable company like Aerobed.

All-in-one package

It would be hard to find a person who likes shopping for extra things to make their purchase complete. In this case, we’re referring to the thick, fitted pad/sheets that come included with this Aerobed.

It means that you don’t have to worry about purchasing extra sheets, which is a huge plus because finding the right fit can be a headache.

It’s also important to stress that the included sheets are not a flimsy piece of cloth but made of thick materials with significant padding on the sleep surface. Also, they make for a practical add-on because they’re washable, and the material of the mattress itself (unlike most others) does not stain and can be easily cleaned.

In our opinion, all of the above makes the Aerobed for kids the most complete and practical product in the category.

The Shrunks toddler travel bed

With a user satisfaction rating of 89% and an overall rating of 90 out of 100, the Shrunks Tuckaire toddler travel airbed with raised side rails has been a close runner-up to Aerobed for 4 updates now.

What stands out about it is the fact that comes from a company dedicated to products for kids (most of the other air beds on the list come from companies whose primary focus airbeds for adults).

As you see the ratings below, the ratings in the main quality categories are pretty close to the Aerobed.

Who will choose the Shrunks Tuckaire?

If you want more versatility, you might choose the Shrunks over the Aerobed. If you compare the two beds (size to size), the Shrunks packs down significantly smaller and lighter.

The smallest size of the Shrunks is the Junior toddler (ages 2+, 52 x 27 “, weight capacity up to 150 pounds) which packs down to a roll of approximately 16 x 7 inches and weighs just over 2.6 pounds.

On the other hand, if you go a size up the Shrunks is available in Twin Family size which inflates to a significantly bigger sleep surface than the Aerobed (78×43, measured side-to-side).

Bottom line – the Shrunks Tuckaire is the more versatile option and, for most people, the most practical choice when it comes to kids travel beds (opposed to indoor use).

Hiccapop Inflatable Toddler Travel Bed with Safety Bumpers – honorary mention and an exciting new arrival to the market

Hiccapop is a refreshing new addition to this guide – this is the second update that finds the Hiccapop in the top three choices.

It currently has the highest user satisfaction rating of all the toddler air mattresses on the list – 96%. Just to make things clear we’d like to disclose that are rating algorithms include what we call a “maturity coefficient.” To avoid confusion, this has nothing to do with the bed being age-appropriate for toddlers – the “maturity coefficient” is just part of how we calculate the ratings.

In other words, it’s our way to make the ratings more reliable by adjusting them to the period of time the product has been on the market. The Hiccapop arrived to the market in the beginning of 2017 and has been gaining momentum ever since. This also means that each new update brings the Hiccapop closer to the very top because the high user satisfaction ratings have been consistent.

That’s the reason why we currently don’t have all the quality ratings for this bed – it will take about six extra months for the bed to reach full “maturity” and for us to report on all the quality ratings.

Frequently asked questions about our top picks in the toddler travel bed category

FAQs about the Aerobed for kids

Does it come in the other size?

No, the 50×25 size of the sleep surface is currently the only one available.

What’s the total size measured side-to-side (including the rails)?

We measured the dimensions of the further-most points of the Aerobed for kids and toddlers to be approximately that of a regular twin bed.

What’s the height of the side bumpers?

Side bumpers (or safety cushion as Aerobed calls them) measures 4 inches in height.

What’s the total height and length?

Measured from the floor to the top of the side bumpers, the Aerobed for kids is about 10 inches high. Measured from side-to-side, it is approximately 60 inches long.

What’s the weight capacity?

The listed weight capacity is 150 pounds.

How does the pump work? Can it be battery-operated?

The bed comes with a standard external Aerobed pump that needs to be plugged in to work (standard outlet). That’s why we stressed that some of the other kid airbeds are a more practical choice for travel.

Is there an option to use a different pump (length or manual)?

No, the pump is specific and the nozzles of other pumps typically don’t work with Aerobed. So if you need a replacement, you would have to get one either from their site, Amazon or an Aerobed store.

Is there any significant off-gassing?

This is one of the most common questions we have been receiving since we first published guide and it only makes sense because, as was said, safety comes first when choosing an airbed for kids and toddlers.

There is a slight PVC smell out-of-the-box, but it quickly dissipates. In practice, we would advise leaving the airbed outside for a few hours to air out.

Can I take it abroad?

As was said, the pump works with a standard US outlet (110 V). This means that, to use it abroad (with outlets of typically 220 V), you would need a power adapter.

Is the issue of cold air present?

This is another common question with toddler airbeds since the air circulating inside can result in cold rushes on the sleep surface. In this quality aspect, we found this toddler inflatable to be superior because of thicker PVC and, more importantly, the hefty padding on the included fitted sheets.

What are the dimensions one deflated?

Once deflated and rolled, we measured the roll to be about 15 inches long and 7 inches in circumference.

Can be used for camping?

If you have access to power, the answer is a definitive yes, especially because the thick PVC fares pretty well and is not prone to punctures.

How to patch it if it develops a leak?

Based on what we’ve seen, the incidence of air leaks is very low, but if it does happen, it holds a patch very well since the surface is not flocked. It comes with a patch kit included and precise instructions on how to do it.

How portable is it?

It comes with a carry case for travel which we found to perfectly fit the deflated bed and be durable in the long run. This was a bit of a surprise because this is primarily an indoor inflatable bed for kids.

Is the good fit for a Pack n’ Play?

Probably not, since it’s too large.

Does it make squeaking noises?

This is a reasonable question since the surface is not flocked. If used without the fitted sheets, you’ll definitely hear some squeaking, but we don’t see a reason to use it without its dedicated pad. In this setup, the noises become a non-issue.

Frequently asked questions about the Shrunks Tuckaire portable travel bed for kids

Is there a warranty?

The Shrunks Tuckaire is known for its unparalleled warranty terms – lifetime.

Noises

The Shrunks Tuckaire is probably the single least noisy product on this list because of the combination of flocked materials and how well the two separate parts (the foundation and sleep surface) fit together. The movement between the two is minimized, and it’s one of the reasons why the design of the Shrunks Tuckaire has received many awards over the years.

Safety

It’s third-party tested to be free of any chemicals like BPAs, phthalates or lead. We haven’t noticed any significant off-gassing and lasting smells. Much like the Aerobed we mentioned above, there is a slight initial smell, but it quickly goes away once unpacked.

Does it come with sheets included?

The two smaller sizes (Junior Toddler and Youth Sleepover) do come with a soft striped fitted sheet (gray and white) while the Twin family size does not.

The pumps and inflation time

The included pump is manual (leg) for the toddler size and typical inflation time is about one minute. If you go with the medium size, the included pump is called Maxaire (also manual) while the Twin size comes with an electric pump that inflates the bed in about half a minute.

How much do the different sizes weigh?

The weight ranges from 2.65 LBS (for the Junior toddler), through 7.94 LBS (the Youth Sleepover size) to 10.8 LBS (for the Twin family size).

Packing size when deflated

The biggest size of the Shrunks Tuckaire (Twin Family) packs down to approximately 16×16 inches (when flat) and 16×7 inches (when rolled).

The two smaller sizes back down to a roll of approximately 40×18 cm (16×7 inches).

The side rails of the Shrunks Tuckaire

Measured from the flat surface of the side foundation to the top of the rail curvature, the security rails are 3.5-4.5 inches high, depending on the size.

Shipping

We have received a few questions about the shipping. We can’t precisely pinpoint the confusion here since Shrunks explicitly lists their shipping policy to be within 2 business days.

What are the sheets made of?

The fitted sheets are 100% brushed cotton.

Frequently asked questions about the Hiccapop kids air mattress

Size of the sleeping surface

Measured from rail to rail, the Hiccapop is approximately the size of a crib mattress. The security bumpers are 11 inches high and 49 inches long.

Maximum capacity

The listed maximum capacity is 300 LBS.

Age range

As per the official listing of the product, the age range is 2+ years. There is no official upper limit.

Using it with a different outlet

Strictly speaking, the manufacturer explicitly lists in that the pump is meant to be used with standard 110V outlets, but it can be adapted to a different current and used abroad if you can find the right converter for the power of the pump.

Deflation

The pump is not a two-way meaning that it doesn’t suck the air out and you would need to deflate the bed manually by pulling the plug out. Based on our experience, about half of the air goes out on its own and you would have to press and roll the bed to fully deflate it.

Can it be used with a universal pump?

As long as you have a pump with nozzles that are a good fit for the Hiccapop valve, you should have no problem using a universal pump for this kids air mattress. This also means that if the nozzles of an inflating machine are a good fit, you can use them to deflate the bed by putting the machine in reverse mode.

Safety

It’s completely free of harmful chemicals like lead, BPAs and Phthalates.

The construction

The sides (foundation) you can see in the images are separate from the middle part of the bed. We’re specifically mentioning this because it makes the cleaning easier.

Intex toddler air mattress – honorary mentions

We feel that it would be unfair to exclude Intex toddler air mattresses from this guide since Intex had at least one representative in the top five since we first compiled the guide on best toddler travel beds for camping and indoor use.

The two most prominent models that have been in and out of our top picks are the budget-friendly Intex Kidz anbd the more advanced Intex travel bed set with side rails.

The user satisfaction ratings of the two portable inflatable beds for kids are respectively 78 and 85%.

Kid and toddler camping bed (inflatable)

Since we received quite a few questions about whether the travel beds for toddlers listing this guide are suitable to be used as kid camping beds, it’s only logical that we addressed the questions.

When it comes to camping, your choice will depend on the circumstances with the most important one being whether you have access to power. If you do, you can easily use even the beds that come with an external electric pump and if you don’t, you’ll be better off with some of the listed models that use a manual or a leg pump.

Updates policy & new ratings

We typically update the ratings in guide on quarterly basis and do a complete overhaul once a year (one that includes new products that have hit the market).

To make sure that the information presented are reliable at all times, we screen the user satisfaction ratings once a month and if we do notice a significant fluctuation (especially lowered ratings) we do an unscheduled update to see if it’s only a statistical aberration or a real issue. We call these “red light” updates because their purpose is to find any indication that something about the products has changed (like materials or manufacturing practices).

The bottom line is that you can rest assured that the information you see here are up-do-date with what’s currently happening on the market.

Finally, if you have any questions, dilemmas or simply quality aspects you feel we haven’t covered, do drop us a comment below or contact us directly. It usually takes us no more than 24 hours to respond to all correspondence.

The following post Best Toddler Travel Bed – Top 5 Kids & Toddler Air Mattresses was originally published on https://thesleepstudies.com

Best sleep and meditation apps for iOS and Android

We have been working on gathering enough data to make a solid list of best sleep and relaxation apps that would go beyond popularity and user reviews for the past six months.

The results you’re about to see take into account our own testing of the apps (our featured testers to be more precise). You’ll see our top 5 picks of sleep and relaxation apps that are available for both iOS and Android.

This top 10 list is updated quarterly basis to make sure we stay on top of things and keep our picks relevant to what’s currently out there. So without further ado, let’s look at our choices and what earned them a place on the list.

Calm

Will kick things off strong by presenting an app that’s been awarded Apple’s 2017 “app of the year” award – Calm.

Currently ranked at number five in the app store (health and fitness category), come is not just a sleep app. It stands out from the crowd by offering much more than soothing sounds to help you sleep, but a chance to learn meditation skills.

It’s not an app that you would turn on only is the day comes to a close, but can be used for breathing exercises throughout the day.

For meditation

In terms of meditation, and are probably better ups out there, but they are meant to be used by people who already have some experience in the field, while Calm is a solid choice for those starting out there meditation journey.

The app offers sessions of guided meditation that can last anywhere between 3 and 25 minutes.

Stories

It might sound childish but sleep stories for adults are scientifically proven to work, especially for those suffering from chronic insomnia. Calm includes over 60 of these.

Natural sounds

With over 30 so the natural sounds to help you drift off, Calm stands tall even when compared to dedicated sound apps.

Current ratings on iTunes: 4.8 out of 5
Current ratings on Google play store: 4.6 out of five
Pricing: subscriptions ranging from the $9.99 to $59.99
Size: 151.1 MB
Requirements for iOS: iOS 9.0 or later
Requirements for Android: 4.1 and up

Sleep as Android

With over 240,000 reviews on Google play store, sleep as android the most popular sleep and relaxation up we found.
It might not be as advanced as calm, but since it comes from the orb an untreated team the compatibility with android devices is unparalleled.

Special features:

• tracking of sleep cycles
• smart wake up
• light bulb (Phillips Hue)
• sleep statistics (deficit, snoring and time spent in deep sleep)
• captcha wake up verification to prevent oversleeping
• pre-screening for sleep apnea

Range of sounds

• natural (sea, storm, gentle rain…)
• binaural sounds

Current ratings in Google play store: 4.3 out of 5
Requirements: variable by device

Sleep Sounds by Relaxio

When we set the Calm app can be compared to the best sound dedicated apps, this relax you app (and a few others) is what we had in mind. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and is calming sounds are your primary reason for getting an app, Sleep Sounds will likely meet and exceed your expectations.

The list of natural sounds ranges from a variety of rain types (refreshing regular, drops on the windshield, forest and rainforest) to evening beach or autumn woods. On the other hand, those who prefer women sounds might find the “train” soothing. Used updates include instrumental music and notification control.

All the sounds are HD and app doesn’t require an Internet connection to work.

Current ratings on Google play store: 4.8 out of five
Requirements for Android: 4.0.3 and up

Relax Melodies

Relax melodies by Ipnos software is another sleep and relaxation app that owes its popularity (35 million downloads) to the quality and range of sounds available.

What stands out about this app in particular is the option to create a mix of sounds included and create one that works best for you. It allows you to choose the sounds you want included in your mix and control the volume of each.

You can then save your mixes to the sound library and choose one for different purposes (from relaxation and meditation to naps and sleep). Over the last year the app grew in popularity, primarily because of the melodies sharing feature. This means that you can create your mix of melodies and share it with the community.

Current ratings on iTunes: 4.8 out of 5
Current ratings on Google play store: 4.5 out of 5
Size for android: variable by device
Size for iOS: 116.9 MB

Top sleep tracking app – Sleep Better Sleep Tracker

If you’re looking for an app that will reliably track your sleep and pinpoint any problems or this balance between your sleep phases you’ll probably find this app to be as reliable as dedicated sleep trackers.

Not only does it allow you to track your progress in sleep quality on your phone, but you can also upload the data Apple Health to make long-term analysis easier.

The interface is intuitive and easy to use and the reliability comes from the fact that it utilizes movement tracking to reach conclusions about your sleep. It’s the same kind of technology used by sleep trackers.

For some people, the downside of movements-based sleep tracking can be the fact that your phone has to be placed on your mattress for the app to work.

The slick minimal design of the interface and included alarm clock deserves full five stars.

Current ratings on Google play store: 4.1 out of 5
Current ratings iTunes: 3.9 out of five
Size for iOS: 79.7 MB
Requirements for iOS: 9.0 and up
Requirements for Android: 4.1 and up

Updates to this guide

With new sleep and relaxation apps sheet in the marketplace practically every day, we are bending our rules on updates (for most sleep-related products we updates the reviews and top picks annually) and go with quarterly updates.

It goes without saying that choosing an app that will be helpful for your specific circumstances includes a range of factors. The good news here is that even the apps with a hefty price tag usually include a trial period that should give you a chance to determine which of these works for you.

Best sleep and meditation apps for iOS and Android is courtesy of thesleepstudies

Mattress industry stats – sales, growth and trend predictions for 2018-2024

We have been doing market research and tracking the trends in the mattress industry since we first established the website all those years ago. Things have been getting increasingly complicated over the past few years. The numbers for 2016 were surprising with ISPA reporting an all-time-high gross revenue and a growth of 3.4 %.

The most important factor causing this tectonic shift is the dynamic industry of “online mattresses.” It’s fair to say that before the disruption the trends in the industry were somewhat predictable with the big mattress companies dominating.

To kick of the analysis, we’ll start by taking a look at the freshest data available (sales stats for 2016 by manufacturer shale sales, channels of distribution and mattress type). Then, we’ll analyze some of the trends we’ve seen over the past year and use our statistical projection modeling to get the impression of what we might expect in the upcoming years. So let us get to it by taking a look at the sales share by company.

Last updated: February 2018

Sales share by channel of distribution

Sales share of manufacturer

Satisfaction % by mattress type

Economic implications

The last graph shown above is probably the most important indicator of where the industry is going, although it might not appear so at first glance.

Cause of the shift

Is the new business model of buying a mattress online that caused the increase in user satisfaction rate with memory foam mattresses. Most of these companies (like Casper, Leesa, Lull – https://thesleepstudies.com/lull-mattress-review/, etc.) are memory foam mattresses that can be packed and shipped efficiently.

We firmly believe that it’s the warranty terms (typically 100 nights to try the mattress out) that are causing the spike in user satisfaction percentages with these types of mattresses. The business model is simple – making the mattress so that it suits most of the population and then offering a return policy that most stores cannot match.

Note: the category of “air” includes both classic air mattresses (https://thesleepstudies.com/best-air-mattress-reviews/) and high end products with an air chamber core (Sleep Number and their main competitor – Personal Comfort Beds have by far the highest market share in the latter category – https://thesleepstudies.com/sleep-number-competition/).

Spending trends of the average consumer

When we analyzed the market in 2015 we reached a conclusion that it plateaued. We were wrong. The substantial growth of 3.4 % in 2016 is an obvious indicator that the average consumer is spending more on a mattress (the trend is most notable in the US and southeastern Asia).

It’s not likely that the slight job market recovery has anything to do with it. The more probable cause is that an average user is encouraged to spend more by the new warranty terms that allow him to try the mattress out before committing to the purchase.

What we can expect in the short term

The trend of growth is likely to continue for at least 5 to 6 years as the new business model is yet to gain trust of the more conservative buyers. Based on he indicators that we’ve seen over the last few years we expect a steady growth of 2.5 – 3.5% per year in the 2018 – 2024 period.

The long term effects of the change

We mentioned that the new technologies and business models used in mattress manufacturing are already showing a significant impact on the mattress marketing in South Eastern Asia.

In the short term, this might not be a big deal but in terms of long-term growth it is probably one aspect of the mattress industry that should be followed with a keen eye by anyone looking to predict where the industry is going.

We’re saying that for two reasons:

1. With improvements in the shipping, it would not be a surprise for the mattress-in-a-box companies to turn their attention to the giant Asian market
2. We could also see the local mattress companies mastering the technology and materials used for the new business model

The two factors above could result in a big spike on the market in 5 to 6 years.

The bottom line

If you were to make a list of manufacturing industries being shaped by new technologies and business models, the mattress industry would likely be at the very top.

Speaking from the economic perspective and looking at the big picture, the impact of the changes that we describe above is yet to show its full impact on the market.

With new companies and improved technologies and materials arriving at the marketplace with each passing quarter, these are as exciting times as any.

That’s the main reason why we’re moving on from our regular scheduled updates of this report (annual) to quarterly updates on any significant news in the industry.

The blog post Mattress industry stats – sales, growth and trend predictions for 2018-2024 is republished from TheSleepStudies

Best Beach Blanket | Top 10 Compared | 2018 Update

The guide on the best beach blankets was long in the works (probably longer than we expected) because our rating methods we used for other blankets did not exactly “translate” to this category.

Besides tweaking our rating algorithm we got outside help from 4 material technology engineers (to make the initial choices of 22 beach blankets to be tested). Once we had that part narrowed down, we proceeded to the testing phase. The testing phase included testing the blankets ourselves and sending them out to our featured testers.

The bottom line is the results you’ll see are aftermath of over 4,000 work hours of statistical analysis of over 7,000 user experiences. We did our best to make the information we present as reliable as possible and eliminate any guesswork that you. the reader, need to choose right.

The guide is updated on quarterly basis to keep the information fresh. You can see the last time this guide was updated just under the table of our top picks (green text). So, without much ado, let us get to the results of the last update.

Best beach blanket – Top 5

Top-rated beach blanket overall – Wildhorn Sand Away

If you’re not fan of sand filling your bags and sticking to your blanket, your search probably ends here. No blanket (or even towel for that matter) we looked it as sand-proof as the colorful Wildhorn.

The material used to make the Wildhorn Sand Away is parachute-grade rip-stop fabric. Based on what we’ve seen, if you buried this blanket in a pile of sand you could pick it up using two fingers without a single grain sticking to it. The combo of the material and size is unique and the extra pockets for small items like sunscreen, phones and keys are a nice plus.

The one downside is that in only comes in one size (oversized, 9 x 7 ft.) and if the beach you’re traveling to is crowded, you might have a hard time finding enough space to fully spread it. Folded in half, it’s just right for a couple but fully spread, it can comfortably fit 3-4 people.

• Comfort: 96 / 100
• Packing & Travel: 98 / 100
• Sand repellent: 98 / 100
• Heat isolation: 95 / 100
• Water absorbency / drying: 94 / 100
• Washing / maintenance ease: 95 / 100
• User satisfaction: 96 / 100
• Value for money: 96 / 100

Bottom line

Wildhorn Sand Away is one of the largest blanket we looked at, but the surprising part is how light and small it packs (approximately 1.3 lbs in a cylinder pouch of about 5.5 in diameter and 8.5 in length).With all that said, we found it to be solid value for money and a smart buy. Overall rating 95 / 100.

FunN’Sun beach towel blanket

Most of the blankets we listed are made of modern materials that are all about repelling sand, drying quickly and, in some cases, being waterproof. The FunN’Sun is different and will be the choice of people looking to stand out but still prefer the cozy feel of a towel to the parachute nylon fiber. It’s top-to-bottom premium microfiber.

We did see some great microfiber blankets (we’ll talk about one more in a minute) but the colors are usually not much fun. There’s a reason behind that – if not treated to be color-fast, microfiber tends to bleed color (especially when greens & red are combined with white). That’s why you’ll see it used mostly in one color pieces or combos of akin colors, like hues of blue and turquoise.

If you want to stand out and be the talk of your beach section, the FunN’Sun will do it. It comes in two sizes (towel – 64 x 76 and blanket size – 64 x 76) and 10 vivid color combos. What we especially liked about is how color-fast it is. This aspect is usually a problem, especially in lower price ranges, since the blanket tend to bleed color.

• Comfort: 96 / 100
• Packing & Travel: 97 / 100
• Sand repellent: 96 / 100
• Heat isolation: 94 / 100
• Water absorbency / drying: 92 / 100
• Color-fast: 96 / 100
• Washing / maintenance ease: 98 / 100
• User satisfaction: 97 / 100
• Value for money: 95 / 100

Microfiber is a combo fabric (between polyester and polyamide) and, over the last decade, we have seen a surge of low quality fabrics on the market. We’re basing this on other blanket types we’ve tested and reviewed over the years, but the criteria is the same.

The color-fast issue we mentioned above might not be much of an issue for one-season blankets of akin colors but if you want to get a blanket with whites included without breaking the bank. The blankets that don’t bleed in the white-vivid combo are much more expensive but we’ve seen no significant difference in the quality compared to the FunN’Sun.

Last but not least, the FunN’Sun is one of the most popular choices among users since the range of colors appeals to beach-goes of all types and sizes, from surfers to families and couples. It has hundreds of review on Amazon – you can see them all by following one of the links below.

SportLite Extra Large

The SportLite Microfiber large beach blanket is the highest rated in the category of user satisfaction and packing size. The thin microfiber packs extremely small and, in that quality, it has no real competition – it’s as seamless and as ease to carry and use as they come.

Microfiber is so popular that we have even seen some companies trying to imitate the look and feel with other fabrics (like plain polyester) and pass it as micro. In the case of a beach blanket, the first thing you’d notice with one of these is how poor the insulation from the heat of the sand or pebbles is and that it doesn’t absorb water.

If the imitation of the product is well-finished you won’t even be able to tell until you try to dry water from your body. If it just pushes the water around, you probably have a polyester fabric on your hand “posing” as microfiber.

• Comfort: 96 / 100
• Packing & Travel: 97 / 100
• Sand proof: 96 / 100
• Heat isolation: 94 / 100
• Water absorbency / drying: 92 / 100
• Color-fast: 95 / 100
• Washing / maintenance ease: 98 / 100
• User satisfaction: 97 / 100
• Value for money: 95 / 100

Bottom line

If the blanket genuine microfiber, the quality is determined by the denier and % of material. We found the SportLite to be super absorbent and great at heat insulation from the sand.

The result came as no surprise since SportLite is known for their beach products (it’s the brand that makes the official towels for the LA Lifeguard Association).

To be clear, there’s nothing revolutionary about this SportLite, there are dozens of good microfiber blankets and beach throw out there. The main difference here is the quality of the microfiber and the “value for money.

We do know of similar products, but a vast majority of them costs much more than this SportLite. This brought their rating in the “Value for $” down and knocked them right out of the Top 5, making the SportLite the only bproduct among the top picks that’s made of microfiber.

Kahuna Next Gen sand proof beach blanket

The Next gen by Kahuna is a similar product to the iShoyu and will appeal to people with similar taste and needs (the main advantage being the sand-proof material).

Again, the material & sand-repelling properties are similar, as you can see in the ratings below. You’ll notice that we don’t rate the products made of parachute nylon fiber in the category of “color-fast.” That would make very little sense since the material simply does’t bleed color and that’s true even for product of significantly lower quality than the Kahuna.

The main (objective) PROs of the Kahuna are the drying (takes only minutes), the ability to repel sand. On the subjective side, we have to say that we prefer the triangular patterns and colors of the Kahuna, but that’s just us.

• Comfort: 94 / 100
• Packing & Travel: 96 / 100
• Sand proof: 97 / 100
• Heat isolation: 93 / 100
• Water absorbency / drying: 91 / 100
• Washing / maintenance ease: 95 / 100
• User satisfaction: 95 / 100
• Value for money: 95 / 100

Kahuna defines their blankets as “giant” or “over-sized” but there is significant difference in the size (10×9″ vs. 8×8″). If the size of the IShoyu seems like too much, you’ll find the Kahuna to be just right for one or two people (without folding it).

You can see what owners are sharing about it by following the links below.

Round beach blanket by Dock & Bay

The only round beach blanket on the list comes from one of the most trusted companies in the industry “Dock & Bay.” It currently has by far the highest number of reviews from all the listed products.

The material is microfiber and you can choose between 10 round cross and 6 round maze patterns. Another company that was bold enough to combine colors that can bleed with whites. We already talked about the additional treatment this entails before the products can hit the stores.

Sizes: Large, Extra Large  & Round (the circle is 75 ” in diameter).

What stands out about the Dock & Bay is the fact that this round beach blanket is the only on the list that has a 30-day return policy and full year of warranty. We’ve seen no better return and warranty policy. In fact, you rarely see one at all with products like this.

Kudos for that, Dock & Bay.

Turkish beach blanket by Cacala

Turkish beach blanket is a throw made of 100 % Turkish cotton. They’re light, the tight weaving leaves little room for stretching which also means they don’t dry as easily as the modern material listed here.

Typically, a person getting a Turkish beach towel will know exactly what they’re looking for. Th feel of the fabric is hard to explain and the closest we can get is that it resembles a slightly more rugged cotton throw.

The right weave and the color-fast cotton allow for the most expressive range of colors. Our top pick here, the Cacala Turkish beach towel, is available in 24 colors and measures 59 x 79 inches.

Most of the categories we used to rate the products don’t really apply to Pestemal throws (another word for a Turkish beach towel) so we’ll only reporting on the user satisfaction rating here.

• User satisfaction: 94 / 100

Giant GO sand-free waterproof beach blanket

GO is a different product compared to blankets we talked about thus far. While parachute fabric and microfiber are designed to be quick-drying, they have no backing or layers that would be waterproof.

The material of the GO is Oxford Polyester (Ripstop), the GO offers more insulation and the moisture of the surface underneath (whether it’s sand, grass or ground) practically has no chance of “breaking through”. On the other hand, the top finish is still quick-drying.

The blanket is kept in place with either sand-pockets (which will be enough for a trip to the beach) or small stainless steel pegs you can use to secure the blanket even better by attaching the corner loops.

• Comfort: 95 / 100
• Packing & Travel: 95 / 100
• Sand repellent: 93 / 100
• Heat isolation: 94 / 100
• Waterproof: 100 / 100
• Washing / maintenance ease: 91 / 100
• User satisfaction: 95 / 100
• Value for money: 94 / 100

Oxford ripstop polyester is a peg stronger than parachute nylon fiber and is likely to last longer. Since it’s a different type of material, you’d see the rating of “water absorbent” change to “waterproof.” The ratings we reached are below.

Beach throw blanket – Seashore woven by Manual Woodworker

This beach throw blanket is probably the most stylish product on the list and will be the choice of people who prefer the luxurious woven “feel” to that or microfiber or parachute fiber.

Strictly speaking, this throw is more about the looks and feel than being water or sand-friendly, because it’s all-cotton.

It’s top-to-bottom US-made and we measured the size to be approximately 40 x 50 “.

User satisfaction rating: 93 %

Bottom line

This throw is in a category of its own and most of the quality ratings don’t apply, so we’re only reporting on its owner satisfaction rate.

You can read what users are saying about by following one of the two links below.

Reference info on choosing the best beach blanket – types & materials

Types by material used

Parachute nylon

Probably the most popular type of sand free beach blankets today are the ones made from parachute nylon. The main reason behind the trend are the sand-repellant and quick-drying properties of the materials.

The material is at the “sweet spot” between comfort, weight, toughness and longevity.

It retains color very well and doesn’t change, which leaves room for using vivid colors and patterns varying from cute (soft pinks that most women will like) to and expressive for the youngsters. The nature of parachute nylon also allows for small and light packing.

Polypropylene

The main PRO of blankets made of polypropylene are the longevity and toughness. The secondary benefit is the stylish look and feel similar to that of a woven beach throw blankets.

Polypropylene is waterproof and the little water absorbed dries quickly. It’s also naturally resistant to temperature changes and makes for a great insulator from the scorching heat of the summer beach sand.

Microfiber

None of the materials we talked about above compares in softness to the cozy feel of micro fibers.

It’s only natural that they make one of the best beach blankets if you think about the absorbing properties of microfiber cloths. The important part here is knowing how to recognize the real thing from cheap imitations. It’s one of the few materials that allows for a circle stitching to hold well and most of the round blankets are made using microfiber.

If you get that part right, you’ll end with soft blanket that will last for summers with minimal changes.

Fleece and polar fleece

Because of the similar properties, fleece often plays the role of wool and offers a great substitute for those who are not fans (or are allergic) of the prickly wool fibers. It’s used for beach throw blankets, especially its sub-type polar fleece.

Polar fleece is a bit more rugged and stronger than regular fleece, hence the more common use for clothes and clothes. The direction of the fibers defines the stretching – it usually stretches more along one of its dimensions (depending on the weave).

Compared to wool, it’s far lighter and easier to wash and clean.

Oxford Ripstop fabric

Oxford ripstop is used for backing of waterproof beach blankets. Not only does it make them waterproof and more durable.
It’s typically paired with parachute nylon on the top, making the bottom waterproof while the top remains breathable enough to dry easily, especially under the beach sun.

Cotton – used mainly for beach throw blankets

Most of us remember the days when all you could see on the beach were cotton towels. Cotton is absorbent but retains water and sand. In that quality aspect, it’s fair to say that it’s not as beach-friendly as other modern materials.

Today, it’s used for cute beach blankets – the kind you’d use for a picnic and not rarely on its own for a full day on the beach.

More about our review process and ratings

We already talked about the basics of the methodology we use to rate the blankets, but in the section below we’ll dig deeper and explain the nitty-gritty of it all – from the moment we decided to review the products to the moment we first had a list of Top 10 best beach blankets.

One of our editors is a Materials technology engineer and, in guides like this, it’s usually him and a few of his colleagues (that we bring in for the project) who make the initial picks.

What are “initial picks?”

The initial picks are the products that passed the first “filter” and qualified to be looked into closer.

In this case, the broad list included over 120 products (based on user satisfaction data). The shortlist are the blankets we analyze and review in more depth. In this case that list consisted of 20 products.

• We favor no brands and nothing can influence our ratings. To ensure that, we follow a few rules:
• We accepted no “free samples” in the initial phase (and trust us, since we first compiled this guide, we’ve had many offers for that). That might change in the next update since we now have more data available and the rating algo is tweaked t make the testing blind.
• Blind testing means that the ratings are reached by marking the blankets as Sample 1, Sample 2, etc & removing all visible tags. We learned so much about the blankets that this practice doesn’t make much of difference anymore for in-house testing since we know the look and feel of all the blankets we list. However, it does make all the difference if we send the product out to our featured testers. If we don’t share the brand, there’s little to no chance of them looking up the product and basing their reviews and rating on existing data.
• We update this guide on quarterly basis to include new data and accurately reflect the market. In terms of re-testing the products in the field and in-house, our budget allows us one update per year. The exception to that rule are cases of products that see an significant change in user satisfaction %s between the “small” quarterly updates. If we see any red lights here (usually a drop in ratings) we re-test the said product. Reasons for this are usually a change in price that affects the user satisfaction and, more often, a change in manufacturing or outsourcing practices.

For this guide we had no unscheduled testing so far.

Our review and rating algorithm is a “living” thing. That’s especially true for this guide since the products and quality aspects are unique and the methodology we use to rate, say, heated electric blankets, hardly applies.

For this guide, it was back to the drawing board and the changes were more than tweaking since we had to include categories we’ve never used before like the blankets being “sand-free” (you might see this aspect referred to as “sand-repellent”) and waterproof.

Ask us anything

If you reached our page and still have doubts about what you’ll bask in for the few summers to come, drop us a line anytime (the comment section is below). We’ll do our best to help.

If we don’t know the answer, we’ll find out and get back to you within 24 hours.

Bob, James and Katia aka. the blanket review team at TheSleepStudies

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