How to Alleviate.or Eliminate Restless Leg Syndrome Discomfort

I have had Restless Legs Syndrome and now I don't. The symptoms are:
1. The uncontrollable urge to move the legs accompanied or caused by uncomfortable and unpleasant sensations in the legs.
2. Symptoms of restless legs syndrome are worse during rest or inactivity. Your legs jerk around out of control. Many times it is only one leg.
3. Symptoms are partially or totally relieved by movement.
4. Restless legs syndrome is worse at night since it keeps you awake. Just as you are dropping off to sleep your legs jerk around.
Here is what I did about it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A body pillow.
• calcium, magnesium and zinc minerals (optional)

1. 
   Leg stretch

   I used to sleep on my back and the restless leg syndrome developed.
   I found that if I did leg stretches it really reduced the symptoms. It seemed the more leg stretching I did the less symptoms I had. I always walked a lot and I think walking without stretching was part of the problem. I am a licensed massage therapist and I have learned that stretching is essential to good sleep. Do at least 10 minutes before bed.

2. 
   Side sleeping with body pillow

   The next step was sleeping on my side with a body pillow. Here are some pictures of sleep positions on your side. You have to have good head support to sleep on your side. Your neck and head pillow should be the width of your ear to the edge of your shoulder so your neck is not too high or your head tilted too low.

3. 
   Side sleep positions

   I found that after I trained myself to sleep in these positions the restless leg stopped. It took a few months but the best part is that I haven't had it for 6 years. I had restless leg for about a year and now it is gone. Good luck and I hope you feel better.

4. 
   Drink filtered water.

   Keep in mind artificial stimulants could add to this condition. Eliminate coffee, chocolate, non-herbal tea and any type of caffeine from your diet. What you eat affects your body in a very direct way. Drink filtered water to help eliminate toxins and keep your muscles hydrated. I also take calcium, magnesium and zinc in combination before bed. It helps to keep your muscles from cramping and you will sleep more soundly. Remember mom saying drink a glass of warm milk to get sleepy. It is the calcium that makes you tired.

5. 
   Minerals can help you sleep more soundly.

   I do all my shopping for vitamins online at Puritans Pride. I put their link at the bottom of the article under resources. They have the best prices on the internet for supplements, vitamins and minerals. They are prompt, give you return credit if something doesn't agree with you and phenomenal sales such as buy 2 get 3 free. Check them out. I have been buying from them for 10 years and never disappointed. They have products for pets also. Pet products can be expensive so this is a good way to save.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you have a decent mattress
• Wear comfortable sleepwear or none

Resources

• Puritan.com

[TeacherKelly]

on 12/7/2008 Nice description of the symptoms of RLS in your intro. Glad you got rid of yours... but be aware that not everyone can eliminate RLS by changing their sleep position or doing stretching exercizes!

[showpup]

on 7/1/2008 Great article. This has the potential to help a lot of people. 5 stars

[LogiesPage]

on 6/5/2008 Thanks for the article, rls is soooooooo annoying so any help to alleviate it is welcome.

[MIHealthCoach]

on 5/23/2008 Great info! I will forward this to friends who have RLS.

[janiart]

on 5/12/2008 Thank you for the informative article, I have RLS on occasion, and the dairy products do help me...not just milk though, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc...as well as calcium supplements. In Addition to the tips in your article I'd suggest eating chicken or turkey...they contain the same amino acid as milk does, the one that makes you drowsy, it's called L-Tryptophan.