They're generally worse in the evening and at night. Symptoms almost always go away in the early morning, so people who have RLS can often sleep well then. For some people, symptoms may cause severe nightly sleep disruption that can impair their quality of life.
These sensations can last for an hour or longer, slowly increasing in severity. While the sensations are most often bilateral, some patients experience them only on one side of the body. The most common time for RLS to occur is at night when the person lies down to sleep.
The cause of restless legs syndrome in most cases is unknown. Research shows that affected people often have too little or malfunctioning iron in the brain. “We also know that there's some problem with the dopamine system, and patients often have a good response to dopamine medicine,” says Allen.
Suspected Root Causes of Primary RLS
The consistent factors related to primary RLS are iron deficiency (specifically its concentration in the brain), a malfunction of dopamine production, release, and impact, and subtle variations in several genes.
If nerve cells become damaged, the amount of dopamine in the brain is reduced, which causes muscle spasms and involuntary movements. Dopamine levels naturally fall towards the end of the day, which may explain why the symptoms of restless legs syndrome are often worse in the evening and during the night.
Conclusion. Taking magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements can reduce the severity of symptoms of RLS/WED patients and improve their sleep quality.
Calf stretch.
Slightly bend your right knee and step your left leg back a foot or two, positioning its heel and foot flat on the floor. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Now bend your left knee while still keeping its heel and foot flat on the floor. For a deeper stretch, move your foot back a bit farther.
Lie on your back with your legs extended up against the wall at a 90-degree angle. Stay in the position for 5 to 20 minutes to ease restless legs syndrome.
Symptoms occur mainly at night. Nighttime leg twitching. RLS may be associated with another, more common condition called periodic limb movement of sleep, which causes the legs to twitch and kick, possibly throughout the night, while you sleep.
Since the symptoms of the syndrome appear or worsen in resting and immobility times, these symptoms may improve by moving. Therefore, moderate exercise can be helpful (2). Exercises like walking, massaging, stretching, swimming, and stationary cycle can help relieve symptoms (12).
Restless Leg Syndrome is a common symptom of anxiety. We traced this symptom to the adverse effects of chronic stress. Specifically, apprehensive behavior stresses the body. A body that becomes chronically stressed can exhibit symptoms of stress.
You could have restless leg syndrome (RLS) or peripheral neuropathy (PN). These two conditions have symptoms that can mimic one another at times, but the two conditions are quite different.
Measurements and Results: Most patients with RBD (85%) presented periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS). PLMS occurred more frequently during non-REM sleep in patients with RLS and during REM sleep in patients with RBD.
Oral supplements
Meanwhile, others find the glycinate form offers the fewest side effects. The recommended daily amount of elemental magnesium in a supplement form is between 200 to 400 mg daily for adults. Taking it at bedtime should benefit sleep.
Take iron.
Because low levels of iron might be linked to RLS, your doctor will likely suggest taking iron supplements. Other supplements. There's not a lot of research to back it up, but some people get relief from RLS symptoms by taking folic acid, magnesium, or vitamin B12.
Estrogens. There is a complex relationship between estrogens, dopamine, and movement disorders in RLS [32]. Estrogen acts as a dopamine antagonist in schizophrenia [33] and this has been hypothesized as its role in RLS, but it may be changes in level rather than the absolute level that influence RLS expression [32].
Serotonergic system
Medicines that increase serotonin bioavailability (antidepressants) have been associated with increased risk or aggravation of RLS and PLMS.
Restless legs syndrome is a lifelong condition that might get worse with age. But some people go into remission and don't have symptoms for days to years. Keep your doctor updated on how you're doing. If you start to feel worse, they might suggest lifestyle changes or medications.
Restless legs syndrome is not life threatening, but severe cases can disrupt sleep (causing insomnia) and trigger anxiety and depression. The charity Restless Leg Syndrome UK (RLS-UK) provides information and support for people affected by restless legs syndrome.
Dopamine agonists — The non-ergot dopamine agonists, pramipexole, ropinirole, and rotigotine, are effective in the treatment of RLS at low doses and are all considered reasonable first-line therapies for chronic persistent RLS in patients with an increased risk for side effects from gabapentinoids [7].