Frequently Asked Questions
Hugimals are high-quality, award-winning weighted stuffed animals that “hug you back” to lower stress, boost feelings of calm, and help with sleep and focus. They combine the emotional connection of a favorite stuffed animal with the calming benefits of a weighted blanket.
Some of Hugimals' unique details and differentiators:
- Hugimals weigh 4.5 pounds, as opposed to the 2 or 3 pounds found in other weighted plush like the Target weighted dino. Our heavier weight was advised by occupational therapists to ensure more sensory support for both children 2+ and adults.
- Unlike other weighted plush, Hugimals have their weight distributed evenly throughout the body, head, and limbs, (rather than having the weight clumped only in the middle, butt or arms like many other weighted plush.) Our evenly distributed weight brings you the comforting sensation that your Hugimal is truly hugging you back!
- Hugimals have a patent-pending removable weighted insert, which makes Hugimals' outer plush Machine Washable (unlike most other plush and weighted plush, which are spot-clean only.) Simply remove our weighted insert and machine wash the outer plush when needed.
- On the recommendation of the top psychologists we worked with in creating Hugimals, all our gender neutral characters have emotionally supportive neutral facial expressions rather than forced smiles. Our sweet neutral expressions allow you to feel whatever you're feeling in a no-judgment zone.
- Calming colors found in nature and inspired by river stones
- Extra-soft fabric for a soothing visual and tactile sensory experience.
Like Hugimals, our Heart to Hug Pillows Hugimals are intentionally and beautifully designed with input from psychologists and occupational therapists to make them the ultimate therapeutic calming tool — on top of being pretty darn lovable!
Hugimals and Heart to Hug Pillows make incredible gifts for birthdays, holidays, for a loved one going through a stressful time, or just because. When you gift a Hugimals World product, you are literally sending hugs that loved ones can turn to again & again in stressful moments, when winding down at night, or anytime they need a hug.
Similar to a big, comforting hug, the weighted pressure (aka Deep Touch Pressure) in our products brings on a relaxation response from your parasympathetic nervous system — and tamps down a fight-or-flight response from your sympathetic nervous system. When one of our weighted self-care products is placed on your lap, chest, or tummy, your body begins to lower production of the stress hormone cortisol and increases production of the “calming” neurotransmitters, including oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine, helping you feel comforted, relaxed, grounded, and secure.
Deep Touch Pressure has also been shown to help with sleep, as well as focus & concentration, making our products excellent bedtime companions and study/work buddies!
Enjoy the calming hugs!
Weighted pressure, known in the scientific community as Deep Touch Pressure, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system's rest & digest response and tamps down the sympathetic nervous system's fight/flight/freeze/fawn response. Weighted pressure helps bring on feelings of calm, relaxation and well-being. Weighted pressure may also help with focus. Here are a few of the studies that point to the science-backed benefits of weighted Deep Touch Pressure.
Weighted pressure provides therapeutic benefits including lowered anxiety and increased calm.
Source: Occupational Therapy in Mental Health
Weighted pressure eases anxiety and unrest in stressful environments like the dentist.
Source: Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering
Weighted pressure increased on-task behavior in kids with attention difficulties.
Source: American Journal of Occupational Therapy
Hugimals are for kids ages 2+, tweens, teens, adults.
Our Heart to Hug Pillows are made for tweens, teens and adults to enjoy.
All Hugimals World products are meticulously designed with input from psychologists and occupational therapists to ensure the most soothing details and weights.
Our products are loved by kids, parents, tweens, teens, adults, and even older adults — neurotypical, neurodivergent, sensory-seeking, and everyone in between!
When you snuggle up with our stylish weighted comfort items on your lap, chest, shoulder or tummy, you feel the soothing sensation that it’s “hugging you back” with its weighted pressure — making you feel safe, grounded, calm and secure.
Use our pruducts to soothe anxiety during stressful moments, to help ease into a restful sleep, to focus while working or studying, as a comforting companion when recovering from an illness or injury, as a travel companion — or simply cuddle with them anytime you need a comforting hug.
Our products also make fantastic self-care gifts for people you love. When you gift one of our weighted comfort items, you are sending loved ones a hug from afar, and showing them how much you care.
Your Hugimal is weighted with non-toxic glass beads (the same found in many premium weighted blankets), which are carefully sewn inside a sturdy, removable weighted insert. Each Hugimal weighs approximately 4.5 pounds. Customers often say holding a Hugimal reminds them of the comforting feeling of holding a baby or a pet!
Yes! We take safety very seriously here at Hugimals World
Our Hugimals: Our Hugimals are designed and manufactured to meet all global children’s product standards focused on children's safety, including the European standards, which, chemically, are the most restrictive. We utilize independent safety testing labs to thoroughly test, evaluate, confirm and certify that our materials and finished products are safe and free of harmful chemicals in compliance with the strictest child safety standards in the world, including CE EN71, ASTM F963, CPSIA, AS/NZS ISO 8124, CA SOR/2011-17, and more.
Our Hug Pillows: The materials in Hugimals World’s pillows have been tested by independent safety labs to be free of harmful substances under rigorous standards applicable to children’s toys.
Hugimals are too large to rotate freely in a microwave oven, therefore they should not be microwaved. That said, simply holding a Hugimal to your body makes it warm up quite nicely — many customers tell us it feels like you’re getting "a warm little hug!" Our customers have also been known to put their own small heat pads inside a Hugimal's velcro opening and enjoy warmth that way.
Please note: Customers have alerted us to the fact that other brands of large weighted plushies are claiming theirs are microwave safe. They are not. Any item that is too large to rotate freely without catching on the sides of your microwave should never be heated in the microwave. These claims disregard your safety, something we will not do.