30 Days to Better Sleep: Quiet Your Restless Legs

Resting at night depends on getting to sleep easily and staying asleep. Aside from insomnia, one of the sleep disorders that can make it difficult to fall asleep is restless legs syndrome (RLS). What is this condition and what are the major causes of RLS? Frequent bouts of restlessness in your legs may require treatment, so what are the options? Learning if you have RLS and finding an effective therapy will certainly help you to sleep better. Restless legs syndrome, or RLS, is a commonly experienced but infrequently discussed condition. It may affect up to 20% of adults. It typically involves an uncomfortable or disagreeable feeling in the legs that occurs at night while sitting or lying, with an urge to move that is relieved by movement. The feeling may be described as a restlessness, an electrical sensation, like bugs are crawling under the skin, or even as a deep ache. It often affects the legs, but may affect the arms or any part of the body. Though it frequently occurs at night or in the evening, it may occur during the day, especially during prolonged sitting like on a flight or long car ride. As the name "restless legs syndrome" does not always characterize the symptoms completely, it has been more recently referred to as Willis-Ekbom disease, acknowledging the original doctors who described it. No matter what you call it, RLS can really impact your ability to sleep. If you feel like bugs are crawling under your skin, and you have to constantly shift your legs so th...
Source: About Sleep Disorders - Category: Sleep Medicine Source Type: news