The Science of Deep Touch Pressure and Kocoono Blanket Benefits
Recently, there has been a growing interest in how Kocoono weighted blankets work and why they produce enormous benefits.
One answer to this is through deep pressure therapy that calms the nervous system by causing a decrease in the production of stress hormones such as cortisol while increasing the production of good hormones such as serotonin.
There is a lot to be discussed on deep touch pressure therapy and how it benefits us. But before that, we will delve deep into understanding its science and how Kocoono weighted blankets use this mechanism to give its benefits.
The science of deep touch pressure therapy
Our body’s sensory system can help us perfectly explain why deep touch pressure is such a useful mechanism to be utilized in weighted blankets. When your senses collect information from the environment, the central nervous system process the information received using sensory integration.
The information collected by these senses includes:
Vision - Eyes
Sound and vestibular movement - Ears
Smell - Nose
Taste - Tongue
Touch - Skin
Proprioception - Muscles and joints
The sensory information most utilized by deep touch pressure therapy is the touch/tactile sensation which the central nervous system processes to produce a calming, organizing effect on the person utilizing it.
How does the body responds to deep touch pressure therapy
The body responds to deep touch therapy through two main mechanisms which include:
The autonomic nervous system is responsible for receiving information from the environment and then regulates the body to respond following the information received. A practical example of this system at work is when a bear is sighted, and the body is pushed automatically to scream and run.
Three systems fall under the Autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system. Out of these three systems, Deep touch pressure works well with the systemic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
The Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
This is known as the calm and digest system. Deep touch pressure therapy works with this system by increasing its activity and eventually slowing down your body system that is, it decreases the heart rate, slows down breathing, and relaxes your muscles.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
This is known as the fight or flight system, and deep touch pressure works with this by decreasing its activity. The SNS gets activated in response to stressful situations, so deep touch pressure works here by decreasing cortisol, a stress hormone that increases during stress. With this hormone reduced, the SNS activity reduces too, and PNS takes over.
The body also responds to deep touch pressure therapy through the release of happy hormones which are:
- Serotonin responsible for mood regulation and the production of melatonin
- Endorphins responsible for relieving pain and stress and improving overall well-being.
- Dopamine responsible for reward and pleasure and regulation of emotional responses
When these hormones are released, they can counter the effect of cortisol.
To support our various claims, read through this research paper published in a journal that reports the corresponding decrease in anxiety and stress in individuals who used weighted blankets.
How to apply deep touch therapy to your everyday life
A good way to apply deep touch pressure therapy to your everyday life is by incorporating the different products that work with deep pressure therapy into your daily activities. We have lots of them to can pick from.
For one dealing with anxiety, this eye mask can help block excess light from getting into the eyes while putting the body into a deep state of rest.
This product helps relieve tension from your shoulders via deep touch pressure therapy and can be very useful when working.
Just like the eye mask, this product also works via deep touch pressure therapy, but what distinguishes it is that it weighs more and puts more pressure on the eyes. The pressure mounted on the eyes helps release tension from the body.
Our Kocoono weighted blankets help relieve stress and provide ease to the body via deep touch pressure therapy. There are two versions of these blankets available; the Kocoono weighted blanket BASIC and the Kocoono weighted blanket LUXE.
What is unique about the LUXE version is that it features removable weighted bands that can customized to properly align with your body's pressure points.
Via deep touch pressure therapy, this product is able to reverse the production of stress hormones as discussed earlier. Find out more in this blog post about how Kocoono weighted blanket helps relieve anxiety.
- Kocoono customizable weighted lap blanket
This is similar to the normal weighted blanket, but it is a smaller version and handier, so can be carried around with you. It can be very useful at your workplace as it provides deep touch pressure to your legs, making you feel calm and at ease.
Read through this blog post more ways Kocoono weighted blanket can help you.
Overall Benefits of Kocoono weighted blankets via deep touch pressure therapy
- Improves sleep
- Improves focus
- Decreases stress and anxiety
- Eases pain
- Aids relaxation
- Encourages happiness and motivation
- Improves ones social interaction skills
There is a detailed explanation of these benefits given in these blog posts you should check out here:
Who needs deep touch pressure therapy most?
Anyone who desires extra tender loving care in their daily lives needs deep touch pressure. But it’s an important need for individuals who have a disrupted sensory processing system and find it difficult to properly interpret any sensory sensation.
It's also a need for individuals with a disrupted sleep pattern. Individuals as such include those diagnosed with:
- Autistic spectrum disorder
- Depression
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Alzheimer's disease
- Attention deficit hyperactive disorder
- Insomnia
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Sleep apnea
Here are well-detailed blog posts that discuss the benefits of weighted blankets for some of these conditions here:
- Kocoono Weighted Blankets for Children with Autism: Benefits and Reviews
- Kocoono Weighted Blankets for Insomnia - How they can Help?
- Are Kocoono Weighted Blankets Good For Sleep Apnea? The Benefits.
- Kocoono weighted blankets as a therapeutic tool for ADHD| ADHD awareness
Final words
Various health conditions benefit from deep touch pressure making it a mechanism that has piqued the interest of many.
The mechanism of deep touch pressure may not be easy to understand but simply note that it collects tactile sensation and responds by reducing stress hormones and increasing happy hormones which eventually calms the body.
Kocoono Weighted blankets are perfect examples that provide this deep touch pressure effect.
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