Your good night's sleep may just begin here. When Matt King and Sam Hochland saw more and more of their friends and family struggling with anxiety and a good night's sleep, they decided to do something about it. That something became Mela, a Manchester-based startup making weighted blankets of the highest quality. Each Mela weighted blanket is engineered to provide the best possible night's sleep. It's like your own personal hug machine.
The concept is simple. Mela weighted blankets not only provide warmth, but add gentle pressure to specific points on the body. The sensation is of being hugged or cuddled and the body's response is similar: to relax, secure in the knowledge that all is well. Mela say anxiety is reduced and that sleep is enhanced, through being deeper and more sustained.
"For many people," say founders King and Hochland, "a weighted blanket is the only thing standing between them and the sleep of their dreams, yet many of the blankets on the market are overpriced and poor quality." Each Mela weighted blanket is keyed to your body weight, typically 12% of how much you weigh. Quality is key. Not for nothing does the company hold a "Best Weighted Blanket" award from the London Evening Standard.
The look is of a deluxe duvet, complete with cover in soft polyester, 100% cotton — or even bamboo. The inner blanket is where the magic happens, with weights discreetly sewn in at selected points around the padding. The idea is that you'll feel - as Mela put it - "swaddled, the physical connection that you feel provides a sense of warmth and safety that helps the body relax”. Existing bedding can be used with the blanket.
What's more, King and Hochland are keen to give back some of the profits of their success to the community around them, collaborating with charities such as Young Minds, which works with young people to improve their mental health.
Mela weighted blankets strike us as the sort of product that once used — and there's a 30 night trial — will rapidly become an essential part of your downtime, whether it's bingeing on a boxset or drowsily sinking into a deep sleep. Lie back and relax? Don’t mind if we do.
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