There are many different reasons why your well-earned sleep can be disrupted. There are also many factors that can affect the quality of your sleep. External factors can be a nightmare when they are out of your control, but how frustrating is it to be kept awake at night by an internal factor that you cannot control?
What is Restless Legs Syndrome?
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, is a neurological disorder characterised by an irresistible urge to move to stop uncomfortable or odd sensations. As it usually interferes with sleep, it is also considered a sleep disorder.
RLS can also create the bizarre and unsettling feeling that resembles a crawling or creeping sensation in the feet, calves and thighs. This feeling is often found to be worse in the evening or during the night. Sometimes, the arms are affected too (1).
One of the most frustrating things about RLS is that the most distinctive or unusual aspect of the condition is that lying down and trying to relax actually is what activates the symptoms. Most people with RLS have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Left untreated, the condition causes exhaustion and daytime fatigue.
Restless Legs Syndrome Facts
- RLS affects as many as 1 in 10 people in the UK at some point in their life. The condition is more common in women, and in middle age.
- Women are twice as likely to develop RLS than men (2).
- RLS is also associated with involuntary jerking of the legs and arms, known as Periodic Limb Movements in sleep.
- Periodic limb movements in sleep are repetitive movements, most typically in the lower limbs, that occur about every 20-40 seconds (3).
- The movements are when you have episodes of simple, repetitive muscle movements. You are unable to control them. They usually do not keep you from falling asleep. Instead, they severely disrupt your sleep during the night.
Remember
Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movements are often linked. It is important to visit your GP if you think you may be suffering from either condition.
Signs of Restless Legs Syndrome
Diagnosing Restless Legs Syndrome can be difficult. It is important to visit your GP for diagnosis and to discuss treatment options so that you can be treated effectively.
The signs of Restless Legs Syndrome can range from mildly annoying to severely disabling. You may experience the symptoms only once in a while or they may plague you every night. In severe cases of Restless Legs Syndrome, you may experience symptoms in your arms as well as your legs. Restless Legs Syndrome causes a severe need to move the legs, usually accompanied or caused by uncomfortable, unpleasant sensations in the legs.
Symptoms vary, ranging from “painful” to “burning” sensations inside patients legs or arms. Sometimes the need to move is present without the uncomfortable sensations and, sometimes, the arms or other body parts are involved in addition to the legs.
The need to move and unpleasant sensations are exclusively present or worsen during periods of rest or inactivity, such as lying or sitting. These feelings can be partially or totally relieved by movement, such as walking or stretching at least as long as the activity continues. The symptoms and unpleasant sensations are generally worse or exclusively occur in the evening or night.
Not only are the signs and symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome different from person to person, but they can be tricky to describe. Common descriptions include a “creepy-crawly” feeling, tingling, itching, prickling, burning, pulling, tugging, and aching. Some have said it feels as if bugs are crawling up their legs, a fizzy soda is bubbling through their veins, or they have a “deep bone itch.” Sometimes the symptoms are painful, but most often they are simply uncomfortable and disturbing (4).
Footnotes
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/restless-legs-syndrome/
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/restless-legs-syndrome/
- https://www.sleepmanagement.md/rls-plmd
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/restless-legs-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20377168
