WARNING!! ⚠️❗ If you’re working from home, this blog post might make you spend money 🤑 Believe me, it’s worth it. It’s no surprise that loungewear sales up 1,303% as lockdown changes consumer habits because, honestly, who wants to wear jeans when you’re working from home? Sheep wool socks and cashmere jumpers dominated my wardrobe until I found the Kuddly hoodie, and since then I’ve barely taken it off.
The Kuddly hoodie is an enormous 6XL hoodie made of thick soft material that I can quite literally climb into. The material is puffy, just like a quilt, except you can wear it around the house (without imitating Bridget Jones wrapped in her duvet clutching a tub of ice cream). It’s become my go-to when I’m lounging around the house, and here’s why (along with some reasons why you should get one, too!).
1. It’s super toasty
When I’m not writing blog posts, you’ll find me swimming in the ocean or on some kind of board. I’m in the water all year round, whatever the weather, and just wear a bikini 365 days of the year (unless I’m planning on training for a long time in the sea!). There’s no better feeling than walking across frosty seaweed and diving into cold water without a wetsuit. Once you’re over the initial shock, the water doesn’t actually feel cold – just refreshing. The coldness actually kicks in about 20 minutes after you get out, this is known as the after-drop.
I live extremely close to the beach, so I throw on a jumper and walk home as quickly as I can. As soon as I get through the door I throw on my Kuddly hoodie and hide under the weighted blanket. Having tried everything to warm up after sea swimming and beating the after-drop, this is by far the quickest way. It’s also the safest way to warm your body, as opposed to having a shower. Every cold water dipper should have this set up to come home to after being in the sea. It’ll remain a part of my routine even in the summer, after long sessions.
2. No-nonsense eco choice
When I’m looking for something cosy to wrap up for a lazy evening, the choice is simple. When we moved into our house last year, we upgraded a lot of the items in our house and went for a luxury, minimalist approach. Instead of having 10 mediocre blankets, we just have a couple of high-quality blankets that we use regularly. I donated lots of my loungewear that was taking up room in my wardrobe, and recycled a lot of our old blankets. This made room for the hoodie and weighted blanket, which is our go-to for a snuggly evening.
Both the hoodie and the weighted blanket are machine washable – which is super important if you intend to live in it, as I do. This might seem like a given, but it’s important to note that not all weighted blankets are equal. Although I opt for organic natural products wherever possible, rice and bean weighted blankets cannot be washed. For those eco-warriors out there, you’ll be glad to hear the Kuddly weighted blanket is made with ultra-silent glass balls, unlike some of its competitors that are full of plastic beads (yuck!).
3. It reduces stress (no, really!)
Past research has shown that deep pressure stimulation can help reduce autonomic arousal. This arousal is responsible for the symptoms of anxiety, such as increased heart rate. In the study above, the researchers found that using a weighted blanket reduced anxiety by roughly 33 percent. As somebody that struggles with anxiety, it felt like something I had to try to see if it could improve my mental well-being. If there’s something I could do to reduce my anxious symptoms without using drugs, I’d certainly want to give it a go!
The weighted blanket feels like a soothing hug when you’re relaxing on the sofa – or even when you’re in bed. The square stitching stops the glass beads from rolling to one end of the blanket, which was one of my concerns when I first thought about getting a weighted blanket. I began associating the weighted blanket with the post-swim glow and it was comforting to have the weight of the glass beads on my aching legs after a workout. If I try and switch back to a normal blanket now it doesn’t live up to the snuggle appeal of the weighted blanket!
Overall, it’s 5-stars from me. Will you buy a Kuddly hoodie and weighted blanket? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️