With grueling sessions of up to three hours on the ski trail, interspersed with tough interval training, recovery is more important than ever. To optimize her sleep, professional skier Moa Hansson uses a weighted blanket—and can’t imagine going back to a regular blanket.
Moa Hansson is an elite cross-country skier who competes for Falun Borlänge SK. She began using a weighted blanket from Novista on the recommendation of the Swedish Sports Confederation to overcome her sleep difficulties.
– It was last spring, and the season had just ended. I was out of balance, feeling anxious, and having trouble sleeping. Through the Swedish Sports Confederation, I heard about Novista’s weighted blankets and borrowed one for a couple of weeks. Now, almost a year later, I still have it—and I never want to go back to a regular blanket again.
Find the perfect weighted blanket here.
What effects have you noticed?
– I fall asleep faster when I go to bed, sleep undisturbed, and feel more rested when I wake up. I actually tried it mostly for fun and didn’t think it would make that much of a difference, but I quickly noticed that I slept much more deeply with a weighted blanket. At first, it was absolutely incredible—I could sleep 13–14 hours a night without waking up even once. I probably needed that recovery after a tough season, and the weighted blanket definitely did the trick.
Moa Hansson made her World Cup debut in late 2021 and is aiming to become one of the best skiers in the world. It’s an ambitious goal that requires everything to fall into place—training, diet, and, not least, recovery.
– As a skier, you have to be resilient, strong, and fast. My training is all about maximizing my performance and pushing myself to the limit, with long sessions lasting up to three hours combined with intense interval training. Elite athletes are constantly striving to improve by carefully planning their diet and training, but sleep and recovery are just as important pieces of the puzzle. The fact that I sleep better with a weighted blanket has helped me have the energy to train more. Before, I used to feel pretty worn out the day after a hard workout, but now I no longer experience those real slumps. I see this as proof that my recovery is working better now.
What do you like most about the weighted blanket?
– It helps me relax, wind down, and fall asleep quickly. If I’ve had a tough workout and come in to rest in the afternoon, I never have to worry about tossing and turning—I always fall asleep quickly, which is invaluable when you’re living a busy life. Now I’m so used to my weighted blanket that I bring it with me on every trip I take with the national team. My friends used to laugh at me, but after I became an ambassador for Novista, I’ve convinced a lot of them to try weighted blankets—so now they get it, too!
