‘I tried £13 Martin Lewis-inspired buy that means you don’t need to heating’

The plummeting wintry temperatures and soaring energy bills are leaving Brits seeking alternative methods to keeping warm this Christmas.

As per the advice from Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, ‘heat the human, not the home’ is leading to people investing in certain items to keep the cold at bay during the winter months.

One product that has been tried and tested as a success is a weighted blanket. Journalist Emma Gill bought The Supersoft Weighted Blanket, costing just £13, and said it’s “exactly what the description suggests,” saying that it “not only keeps you warm, but helps you to relax too”.

Writing on our sister title the Manchester Evening News, Gill says: “The pressure from it feels like someone’s giving you a hug and the weight, created by micro glass beads, means it keeps you toasty warm.”

The blanket that Gill tried can be found on the Online Home Shop which costs from £13, reduced from £21, with two sizes available in a variety of colours.

Gill said she was inspired to buy one after her son, who owns one, said it “keeps him warm on the couch, as well as helping him sleep”.

She adds: “It inspired me to give one a try – with the mink-coloured waffle fleece design – and now I know why he loves his so much.”

Weighted blankers are also well known for calming the nervous system and according to the Sleep Foundation: “Many people find that adding a weighted blanket to their sleep routine helps to reduce stress and promote calm.

“In the same way as a hug or a baby’s swaddle, the gentle pressure of a weighted blanket may help ease symptoms and improve sleep for people with insomnia, anxiety, or autism.”

Other products recommended by Martin Lewis to ‘heat the human, not the home’ include electric blankets, heated hoodies, portable heaters, thermal curtains, fleecy bedding, an electric foot warmer and heated fingerless gloves.