Legs with a Mind of Their Own
As a kid, I would toss and turn all night. My legs would hurt so bad, I would cry. Nothing could bring me relief. Once mom took me to the doctor, they said I had poor circulation. They also said I needed more calcium in my diet. That would help reduce the pain. This really did make a big difference as I don't get the leg aches like I did back then. And when I do, I just drink a big GLASS OF MILK (almond milk now-as dairy makes my belly ache).
Before the leg aches, there were night terrors. If you aren't familiar with night terrors, they are characterized by frequent and recurrent episodes of intense crying and fear during sleep, with difficulty arousing the child from this event.
They wanted to prescribe barbituates, which would not necessarily stop my terrors, just keep me from physically acting them out. Luckily, these terrors eventually subsided. They say most children do grow out of them, which, thankfully, I did.
However, I often and still sometimes do-walk and talk in my sleep. My brother has a few stories he likes to share of him following me around the house to see what I would do. My husband has stories too-usually involving me urging him to get out of bed because there are "Bugs on the wall! We have to move the bed! GET UP NOW!"
The story I found the most amusing was when I had spent the night at my friend's house.
She said I arose from the floor, threw my hands up in the air and screamed "BABUSHKA!"
Really?!?! I don't even have this word in my vocabulary!
So, I had to look it up, of course. It is defined as "a Western term for a woman's headscarf". Uhm, okay. It's not even a word you would exclaim for no reason at all like "HOORAY!" or "AWESOME!"
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is classified by a strong and urgent need to move the legs. The urge is said to be extremely hard to resist, as there are often uneasy feelings felt inside of the legs. Some say it’s a prickling sensation while others say it’s more of a tingling feeling. In any case, the sensations can be painful, which makes sitting or lying down hard for those with RLS. RLS is a sleep disorder because the condition is said to be its worse at night and then eases off in the morning and it causes disruptions to normal sleep patterns. It is said that 5%-10% of people in the U.S. and Northern Europe will experience RLS. source
Example 1
My husband often complains of my "flopping around like a fish" all night long. So, I have asked him to please wake me up and tell me to relocate so I will stop disturbing his rest. I am trying harder to recognize that I am doing this more now, so I can try and get out of bed before it starts to bother him. However, most of the time I am not even awake when it occurs.
Example 2
The other night, we went out to dinner with friends. I was sitting across from someone (which normally is Steve, but it was our friend that evening) who kept looking under the table. This made me realize that I was shaking my legs up and down pretty rapidly OOPS! I quickly made myself stop. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it. Later in the evening, I found myself doing the same thing and some other fidgety stuff as well. Weird!? It started to make me wonder how often I am doing this, and I don't even know!
People usually point it out to me, as I don't do it voluntarily. Then, I start paying attention to it. It's like a nervous tick or something. So, I find the definition of restless leg to not necessarily describe my issue because I don't actually think "hey, I need to move my legs!" And I don't feel this painful sensation they talk about either. So maybe I have periodic leg movement.
The time frame between season changes seems to be the worst for me. I hadn't correlated it ever to my legs being restless, only that the temperature isn't exactly what I want it to be-so I am uncomfortable. But that uncomfortable-ness results in me FLOPPING LIKE A FISH! That's not all I do tho. I am constantly readjusting the position my legs are in--so I cannot be constricted in anyway. Therefore, I absolutely HATE sleep bags! It is almost impossible for me to sleep without moving around at least 3-10 times per hour.
Over the past 3 months or so, I think I have narrowed down what causes me to have the restless legs. But I am not always good and remembering to do them. Below are a few things that have helped me reduce this issue.
Tips on reducing restless leg syndrome
Before the leg aches, there were night terrors. If you aren't familiar with night terrors, they are characterized by frequent and recurrent episodes of intense crying and fear during sleep, with difficulty arousing the child from this event.
They wanted to prescribe barbituates, which would not necessarily stop my terrors, just keep me from physically acting them out. Luckily, these terrors eventually subsided. They say most children do grow out of them, which, thankfully, I did.
However, I often and still sometimes do-walk and talk in my sleep. My brother has a few stories he likes to share of him following me around the house to see what I would do. My husband has stories too-usually involving me urging him to get out of bed because there are "Bugs on the wall! We have to move the bed! GET UP NOW!"
The story I found the most amusing was when I had spent the night at my friend's house.
She said I arose from the floor, threw my hands up in the air and screamed "BABUSHKA!"
Really?!?! I don't even have this word in my vocabulary!
So, I had to look it up, of course. It is defined as "a Western term for a woman's headscarf". Uhm, okay. It's not even a word you would exclaim for no reason at all like "HOORAY!" or "AWESOME!"
But the most common occurrence in my life is the restless legs or periodic leg movement.
Not really sure which I have -- maybe BOTH!
Not really sure which I have -- maybe BOTH!
The restless legs are something I don't even notice
other than it drives OTHER people nuts.
My husband often complains of my "flopping around like a fish" all night long. So, I have asked him to please wake me up and tell me to relocate so I will stop disturbing his rest. I am trying harder to recognize that I am doing this more now, so I can try and get out of bed before it starts to bother him. However, most of the time I am not even awake when it occurs.
Example 2
The other night, we went out to dinner with friends. I was sitting across from someone (which normally is Steve, but it was our friend that evening) who kept looking under the table. This made me realize that I was shaking my legs up and down pretty rapidly OOPS! I quickly made myself stop. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it. Later in the evening, I found myself doing the same thing and some other fidgety stuff as well. Weird!? It started to make me wonder how often I am doing this, and I don't even know!
People usually point it out to me, as I don't do it voluntarily. Then, I start paying attention to it. It's like a nervous tick or something. So, I find the definition of restless leg to not necessarily describe my issue because I don't actually think "hey, I need to move my legs!" And I don't feel this painful sensation they talk about either. So maybe I have periodic leg movement.
The time frame between season changes seems to be the worst for me. I hadn't correlated it ever to my legs being restless, only that the temperature isn't exactly what I want it to be-so I am uncomfortable. But that uncomfortable-ness results in me FLOPPING LIKE A FISH! That's not all I do tho. I am constantly readjusting the position my legs are in--so I cannot be constricted in anyway. Therefore, I absolutely HATE sleep bags! It is almost impossible for me to sleep without moving around at least 3-10 times per hour.
Over the past 3 months or so, I think I have narrowed down what causes me to have the restless legs. But I am not always good and remembering to do them. Below are a few things that have helped me reduce this issue.
Tips on reducing restless leg syndrome
- Make sure the room is at a nice cool temperature.
(65 degrees or cooler works for me) - Bed attire: nice and loose, non-constricting clothing.
(I often wear shorts and a tank top) - If you take a multi-vitamin, try taking extra Calcium/Magnesium/Vitamin D.
Also, take your vitamins in the morning. I discovered my restless legs got really BAD when I was taking them in the evening. - Eat AND Exercise a few hours PRIOR to going to bed. Not too close to bedtime tho, that can increase the restless legs.
- Don't drink too much alcohol
- Try to stretch thoroughly before going to sleep, or if you can't sleep-get up and stretch for about 20-30 minutes. (This really helps me relax and fall right back to sleep)
If you have restless leg, good luck in your efforts on how to minimize it!
And if you don't have it-THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS!!
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