"Because my body was encouraged to stay still, it was as if my mind was encouraged to settle too."
As a student in the midst of finishing up my final year of college, I’ve had my fair share of late nights, teary eyed, riddled with anxiety as I tried to focus on my latest assignment due the next morning, knowing that there were many more assignments to come with looming due dates. If procrastinating wasn’t enough, the lack of ability to focus when I really needed to was even worse.
It was like a recurring nightmare—a cycle of anxiety. Because I couldn’t focus, I had to stay up late in an attempt to get my assignments done. And because I had to stay up late, I lost my opportune moments to sleep, which would leave me miserable and—surprise, surprise—unable to focus because I wasn’t able to recharge for the next day.
The longer the cycle went on, the more my grades suffered. And the more my grades suffered, the more my anxiety and stress developed because I couldn’t stop feeling like a failure. And the more my anxiety and stress developed, the more my health declined, which affected my ability to socialize, even virtually, which put me into various bouts of depression.
I knew lack of sleep was the culprit. The longer I went without sleeping and getting at least 7 hours a night, the more I suffered. It was the catalyst that started this cycle of anxiety and I needed help fixing it.
One day I was given a special little thing called a Kuddly Weighted Blanket. I remember lifting it and being surprised by the weight. The blanket was a sterling grey and when I took it out of the package, with the cute little logo of a hugging bear, the material was super soft and I immediately wrapped it around my shoulders. I remember immediately feeling grounded. It felt like I was being wrapped in the arms of my significant other, something that always makes me feel good.
" I felt this sense of calm wash over me and I thought, this might work!"
Every night I slept with my Kuddly, and every day I dragged my Kuddly to my desk. Suddenly, I was sleeping more peacefully throughout the night. When I slipped under the blanket, I felt like I was being wrapped in a cocoon as the blanket hugged me into place. Although it was possible for me to shift onto my side, the blanket definitely made me feel more snug and secure and I felt encouraged to stay still.
Because my body was encouraged to stay still, it was as if my mind was encouraged to settle too. Each night, my mind shut off. I was no longer tossing and turning because I was no longer constantly thinking about my to-do list the next day. I was having less stress induced nightmares and was no longer dreaming about missed due dates. This was because the next morning I would wake with energy instead of feeling completely drained.
Eventually my focus began to improve and I wasn’t struggling to do my assignments. Instead of pushing the assignment back, not wanting to think about it because I was either too tired, or too stressed to think about it, I wanted to work on them. In fact, I started working on them and completing them earlier than when they were due. I suddenly felt like I had way more time and energy to do other things—fun things. I no longer felt guilty for doing something for fun because I didn’t have the shadow of anxiety weighing over me due to the fact that my assignments were done.
I got to hang out with my friends and family without worrying about what I had to do to complete an assignment. This was all due to the magic power of that single weighted blanket.
Thanks to Kuddly I’ve gone from being a student thinking about withdrawing from classes to a student who has a chance at making the honour role. My ability to focus and complete my assignments is like night and day. My mood has changed—I am much happier. I feel like I am actually retaining the material, and feel more confident working on my assignments. Which is all due to the fact that I attend more classes because I’m no longer struggling to get out of bed. The Kuddly improved my sleep, and by doing so, it improved my focus, which helped me achieve better grades and finally feel confident that I’ll graduate. So I can’t thank Kuddly enough for how they improved the quality of my life and I’ll forever be grateful.
Seriously. Do it.