PINNED DOWN BY A BLANKET

FASHIONABLE weighted blankets — they look just like normal ones but contain glass beads sewn into individual pockets to increase their mass up to about 30lb — are believed to help sleep by mimicking the deep-pressure stimulation of a massage.

In my case, it should replicate the secure, hug-like feeling I get when sleeping on my stomach and thereby prevent me from turning in my sleep so easily.

Research on weighted blankets is limited, but participants in a Swedish study that was published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders in 2015 said the blankets made it easier to fall asleep, and those using them felt more refreshed in the morning.

Dr Stanley is sceptical about such claims, though. ‘There’s not a shred of evidence,’ he says. ‘The Swedish study shows the blankets stop you moving, but that’s not getting you a better night’s sleep — that’s just the weight restricting your natural movement, which is something that can be plain annoying.’

Following advice to buy a blanket that is about a tenth of my own weight, I source a 15lb version in mid-blue online (pictured above, €59.99, amazon.co.uk).

The weight makes me feel constricted yet comforted, and I manage to fall asleep on my back within 90 minutes. But at 3am I wake, still on my back but sweltering, with achy shoulders and feeling slightly suffocated.

Irritated, I haul off the blanket and go back to sleep — waking once again on my stomach.

FALLING ASLEEP: Back

4AM: Back WAKE UP: Stomach