apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This topic was done-to-death here on AT a few years ago.

Many people seem to favor the heated mattress pad over the electric blanket because you can essentially "pre-heaet" your bed and then turn it off once you get in. This eliminates your concern over having a field of electricity across your body.

I used to have a heated mattress pad and thought it worked great. Had to get rid of it because it's not recommended for use with the new foam mattress I bought.

Why not just take a warm shower and put on some pajamas before bed?

I vote for the heated mattress pad. It is incredible. And, as just mentioned, we turn it on before we go to bed and turn it off when we get in. Ours has two controls so my husband and I can have different temps -- which we really need! Love, love, love it.

Cons:

You don't need it.

Buy a quality blanket or duvet and you don't need it. It's wastefull, inconsiderate. I always sleep in a unheated room, in the winter I use a warm duvet.

It's warm in 2 minutes, uses no electricity. When I do want a new one it's totally recyclable.

I used to pre-heat with an electric blanket when I was single and living in a 1912 house with no insulation. I asked my primary care physician about the electromagnetic field thing and she gave me the side-eye and asked if I was into phrenology and crystal therapy now (i.e., it's bunk). Oh, and she also said that the risk of injury was vanishingly low unless you're elderly, a child, or like to drink yourself into a stupor.

I love my electric blanket. I put it on for only a few minutes before bed and turn it off when I get in. I've got a nice warm down comforter on the bed, but I'm so intolerant to cold that if I get chilled getting into a cold bed I don't seem to be able to warm up the rest of the night.

^^ it's inconsiderate?? To whom?

While a duvet may keep you warm, it is definitely uncomfortable to slide into a freezing cold bed.

I could never ever sleep with an electric blanket always thought how weird to sleep under something that is well..electric. and they are always made of synthetic fibers which I can never sleep on or under.

I have a duvet and use flannel covers for the cold months and I keep the windows open.

I hope people that do use these don't sleep with their pets..I have JRT that sleeps under the covers this make me anxious just thinking about him roasting under one of those things.

Much wiser and greener to invest in a high-quality (European origin) goose down comforter. I turn off the heat at night (it's healthier) and generally crack open the window no matter how cold it is (again, it's healthier). My down comforter keeps me the right temperature at all times. If it's really cold, I wear socks to bed. So ... no "piling on layers", no "localized heat", and no worry about electric current. Just warm, dry, fluffiness. And my dog curled up by my feet.

"It makes sense to us that the electricity over the body would cause at least some negative side effects."

With all due respect, you don't make scientific claims based on it "making sense to you" without any evidence.

Lori, my cat loved sleeping under the electric blanket! It freaked me out too, and I wouldn't fall asleep with her under there, but she adored curling up in that tight space down near my feet while I read at bedtime. She lived to a ripe old age of 14 (pretty good for a rescued stray), the little oddball.

What's odd is that since I hit my mid-30s, I've done a 180 and I absolutely ROAST at night, now. Early menopause, maybe :(

"It makes sense to us that the electricity over the body would cause at least some negative side effects."

Why exactly does this make sense? My mother still thinks using a microwave will give her cancer, and that doesn't make sense either.

If you don't want to use an electric blanket, don't use one. But you can't back up your argument with wive's tales and nonsense.

We use a heated mattress pad and LOVE it. It makes winter so much more bearable, and we can keep our room nice and cool.

I sleep in the attic of a hundred-year-old house. My electric mattress pad & fingerless gloves (for reading before bed) are the only way I get through the winter!

Nothing beats a good comforter and a HOT WATER Bottle. It uses hot tap water (I fill it up while I wash my face and then in the morning use the cool water to water the plants). I got mine from Industrial Poppy on Etsy, its covered in wool and stays warm all night, is safe for the poochie on the bed and if you get too hot, kick it out of bed, its feeling don't get hurt and I can keep my side of the bed warmer so my boyfriend doesn't boil on his side. Its the perfect solution and uses next to no electrons (just those to heat water).

I'm with the electric mattress pad crowd. Keep the room temp lower & my bed softly warm. and the cat sleeps on top of everything... he likes the soft warmth of the bed, too.

I've been looking for a good mattress pad but, my electric blanket does a great job! I turn it on before I get in bed and turn it off right before I get in bed. I think too many blankets is restrictive.

I turn the blanket up to high when I am getting ready for bed, hop in and turn it off. Preheated bed, but I don't wake up roasting in the middle of the night. As for being "wastefull" (or wasteful), I think the lowered thermostat makes up for it, and then some. No cracked windows here in the upper Midwest. I don't think it's "healthier" to get frostbite in my sleep.

Heated mattress pads ROCK. This winter, the temperature of my bedroom has hovered between 51 to 63 degrees Farenheit (which means my sheets are cold). I pre-warm the bed by turning on the mattress pad for just 15 minutes, then hop under my high-quality European goose down comforter. Instead of being tense and cold, I am instantly comfy and ready for sleep.

I use a hot water bottle too... My feet get so cold even with socks on, and the socks get kicked off quickly because they annoy me so much. Lots of pj layers are so uncomfortable so I just use multiple comforters.

I was interested in getting a COOLING mattress pad though, my apartment doesnt have a/c and putting ice in the water bottle as well has pointing two fans at me and sleeping with nothing on (ahem) wasn't enough sometimes ugh thankfully I'm moving soon. Those pads are expensive anyway.

Cons: They don't have sleeves like Snuggies do, you can't play games, change the TV or move around without freezing.

Death to Snuggies.

AlexHoogenveen

Not everyone has the same tolerance to heat and cold. You may not want to be 'inconsiderate' using an electric blanket but I hope you have some other vices.

I vote for the hot bottle idea. The only reason to use a heated blanket is if you're still cranking the heat at night (most people I know have it off anyway.) The hot water bottle eliminates the problem of getting into a cold bed, and keeps you startlingly warm. Don't knock it until you try it, they're cheap!

It's a personal thing. I get cold easily and I love my electric blanket. It's certainly cheaper than heating the entire house when all I want is to keep my bed warm.

" I turn off the heat at night (it's healthier) and generally crack open the window no matter how cold it is (again, it's healthier).
posted by Forestdweller "

just out of curiosity, why is it healthier?

This winter we had no insulation so we didn't want to run the heat because of the cost. The house hovered around 59 in the daytime and down to 54 at night. We actually find that sleeping in the buff under layers of covers is warmer than sleeping in PJs - although I'm not sure why. The first few minutes always sucked, but I warmed up pretty quickly. My feet usually stay cold though (and his don't), so I love the hot water bottle idea.

rather than an electric comforter, i recommend asian electric pads that is usually big enough to cover a king size bed. I cover my bed with an electric pad(which is older than six years now...), another thin sheet over that AND a down duvet. I dont ever wanna get out of my bed...

this is definitely a matter of personal preference. I myself am very sensitive to cold--even my fingers stiffen up while trying to read in bed during the winter. I don't have an electric blanket, but I am planning on getting one--I have two very heavy blankets, warm sheets and a down duvet, and it just isn't enough for me personally. The cold will literally wake me up in the middle of the night and I'll find it impossible to go back to sleep. Finding a way to warm up given that scenario doesn't strike me as "inconsiderate."

little chimp: I can't speak for everyone, but for me, turning off the heat at night is definitely healthier. if I forget and leave it on, I can get dehydrated to the point of having a splitting headache, my nose is guaranteed to bleed a bit, and my skin is painfully dry (no matter how much water I drink before going to bed).

I'm quite sensitive to cold, but I manage with a good duvet and sometimes pj's in the winter months. however, we did used to turn on a small heating pad for our cat when she was very old and thin. she appreciated it very much.

Electric blanket recommended by several doctors for my chronically ill S/O, especially after they had to drape him with a plastic warming blanket with a blower during his last ER visit.

I vote for the hot water bottle, a far cheaper solution than an electric blanket, and one that'll use a lot less power.

My mother's alternative to a hot water bottle was to take an old pillowcase, put two cups of (uncooked) rice into the bottom, and fold the excess pillowcase around the rice several times. Then she put the rice bag in the microwave for 2 minutes, flipped it over and microwaved for another 2 minutes. (The flipping is to ensure the rice doesn't burn, which smells bad). It stays hot for a long time. Plus, as long as you have rice and a pillowcase, you don't have to buy anything, and can put it together in about a minute in case of a cold snap.

Eventually my mom broke out the sewing machine and made two permanent rice bags. If you add a little bit of essential oil to the rice, it will smell like lavender or whatever else you like when you microwave it. And I'm pretty sure running the microwave for 4 minutes uses a lot less energy than an electric blanket.

Satisfaction for both electric blankets and pads does not appear to be that great -- mainly due to reliability issues.

http://sleeplikethedead.com/eb-ep-home.html