Sleepless Leg Syndrome - Restless Leg Syndrome
Sleepless Leg Syndrome - Restless Leg Syndrome
Sleepless leg syndrome sensations can most closely be compared to an itching or tickling in the muscles, like "an itch you can't scratch" or an unpleasant "tickle that won't stop." The sensations typically begin or intensify during quiet wakefulness, such as when relaxing, reading, studying, or trying to sleep.
Restless leg syndrome may start at any age, including childhood, and is a progressive disease for some, while the symptoms may remit in others.
Because it usually interferes with sleep, it also is considered a sleep disorder.
Symptoms
Symptoms of sleepless leg syndrome can come and go and severity can also vary. The symptoms are generally worse in the evening and at night and less severe in the morning. For some people, symptoms may cause severe nightly sleep disruption that can significantly impair a person's quality of life.
Many different symptoms are described by people with restless leg syndrome, for example:
leg pain,
cramps,
tingling,
itchy,
burning, and
aching.
The characteristic nighttime worsening of symptoms in persons with restless legs syndrome frequency leads to insomnia. Because of lack of sleep, children and some adults may be very drowsy, irritable, and aggressive during daytime hours.
Causes
In most cases, the cause of sleepless leg syndrome is unknown. However, it may have a genetic component; restless legg syndrome is often found in families where the onset of symptoms is before age 40. Specific gene variants have been associated with restless leg syndrome. Evidence indicates that low levels of iron in the brain also may be responsible for sleepless leg syndrome.
Considerable evidence suggests that restless leg syndrome is related to a dysfunction in the brain's basal ganglia circuits that use the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is needed to produce smooth, purposeful muscle activity and movement. Disruption of these pathways frequently results in involuntary movements. Individuals with Parkinson's disease, another disorder of the basal ganglia's dopamine pathways, often have restless leg syndrome as well.
Sleepless leg syndrome also appears to be related to the following factors or conditions, although researchers do not yet know if these factors actually cause sleepless leg syndrome:
Chronic diseases such as kidney failure, diabetes, and peripheral neuropathy. Treating the underlying condition often provides relief from restless leg syndorme symptoms.
Certain medications that may aggravate symptoms. These medications include antinausea drugs (prochlorperazine or metoclopramide), antipsychotic drugs (haloperidol or phenothiazine derivatives), antidepressants that increase serotonin, and some cold and allergy medications-that contain sedating antihistamines.
Pregnancy, especially in the last trimester. In most cases, symptoms usually disappear within 4 weeks after delivery.
Alcohol and sleep deprivation also may aggravate or trigger symptoms in some individuals. Reducing or completely eliminating these factors may relieve symptoms, but it is unclear if this can prevent restless leg syndrome symptoms from occurring at all.
Treatment
Treatment for Sleepless leg syndrome is targeted at easing symptoms.
In people with mild to moderate restless legs syndrome, lifestyle changes, such as beginning a regular exercise program, establishing regular sleep patterns, and eliminating or decreasing the use of caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, may be helpful. Treatment of an restless leg syndrome associated condition also provides relief of symptoms.
Other non-drug restless legs treatments may include:
Leg massages
Hot baths or heating pads or ice packs applied to the legs
Good sleep habits
Insomnia medications may be helpful as sleepless leg syndrome treatments, but the same drugs are not helpful for everyone. In fact, a drug that relieves symptoms in one person may worsen them in another. In other cases, a drug that works for a while may lose its effectiveness over time.
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