Your everyday routine may already be difficult enough due to the intense urge to move your legs that is associated with RLS. However, dealing with it at night when your restless legs prevent you from unwinding and sleeping can be even more difficult. Fortunately, a Weighted Blanket can reduce your symptoms and improve your sleep. What you need to know is as follows.

What Is Restless Legs Syndrome?

RLS is a neurological system illness that causes an overwhelming impulse to move your legs, to put it simply. RLS also results in an uncomfortable feeling of crawling or creeping in the thighs, calves, and foot. Because it frequently results in significant sleep disruption and deprivation, it's interesting that RLS is categorized as both a nervous system disorder and a sleep disorder.

In Canada, although both sexes can be affected by illness, women are more prone to experience restless legs than men.

Each individual's experience with RLS is unique, as is how it affects their daily lives. While some people only rarely suffer RLS symptoms, others deal with them constantly. People who are most badly impacted are typically middle-aged or older.

Generally speaking, most RLS sufferers discover that their symptoms worsen in the evening and at night, preventing them from receiving sound sleep.

People with RLS may also suffer Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS), which is when your arms and legs twitch uncontrollably while you're sleeping, in addition to experiencing an insatiable urge to move your legs.

Restless legs syndrome: Primary vs. Secondary

RLS is divided into two groups: main and secondary.

Doctors are unable to pinpoint any elements that cause RLS in the great majority of instances. RLS in these situations is referred to as primary (or idiopathic).

On the other hand, secondary RLS addresses RLS that develops as a result of another medical problem. To be more precise, secondary RLS may happen in those who:

• Have iron deficiency and anemia
• Have a chronic illness, such as diabetes, renal disease, or fibromyalgia
• Are expecting

RLS often goes away in these situations if or when the ailment does.

For instance, RLS is likely to go away if a person begins to eat more iron and successfully treats their iron deficit. The same is true for expectant women; after giving birth, their RLS usually stops on its own.

It's also important to keep in mind that some triggers can exacerbate RLS symptoms. These consist of:

• A few antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antihistamines
• Heavy drinking
• Drinking alcohol or caffeine in excess
• Having a weight problem
• Significant stress
• Insufficient regular exercise

Why Do People Develop Primary Restless legs syndrome?

As previously said, the vast majority of the time, researchers are still unable to pinpoint what causes RLS in the first place.

At the moment, we only know that:

1. RLS frequently runs in families,
2. It can be related to how your body processes dopamine.

According to research, there are particular genes connected to RLS, and these genes frequently run in families. Those who have a family history of the condition typically have symptoms before the age of 40.

Researchers are also looking into the possibility that RLS is strongly related to the basal ganglia, a region of the brain.

Let's deconstruct it: A group of brain regions called the basal ganglia are located at the top of the midbrain and the base of the forebrain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that these structures employ to assist regulate movement and muscular function.

In this case, dopamine serves as a messenger. It helps your brain control and coordinate movement by ensuring that your nervous system and brain are communicating effectively. Your nerve cells become problematic if they sustain any sort of damage. Your brain's dopamine level will drop as a result, causing muscle spasms and uncontrollable movements.

RLS sufferers typically have more severe symptoms at night because our dopamine levels naturally drop near the end of the day.

Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment

Making lifestyle modifications is part of treating secondary RLS, according to the patient. Treating the underlying issue that is causing your RLS, if possible, should hopefully stop the disease.

However, if you have primary RLS, this complicates matters even further.

RLS Treatment Without Medicine

To reduce the symptoms of RLS, a prescription isn't always required. Here are a few RLS home remedies:

• Massage

Message your legs while you soak in a warm bath.

• Place ice or heat packs on your legs. Some RLS sufferers claim that alternating between using heating pads and ice packs helps to dull the unpleasant sensations that are associated with the condition.

• Create a regular sleep schedule.

This includes avoiding technology use an hour before bed, going to bed at the same time every night, and sleeping in a cool, quiet, and light-polluted environment.

• Movement.

Experts advise exercising moderately early in the day; avoiding the gym too late could make your RLS worse.

• Stay away from coffee and sweet, sugary beverages. These may make symptoms worse by activating the nerves even more.

• Make use of Weighted Blanket

If you have trembling legs, use a Weighted Blanket.

Utilizing Medicine To Treat RLS

A variety of drugs are available that may treat RLS.

As an illustration, your physician might give you medication that raises the amount of dopamine in your brain. These drugs include pramipexole, rotigotine, and ropinirole (Requip, Neupro) (Mirapex). Some people with RLS may get relief from medications that alter calcium channels, such as pregabalin (Lyrica), gabapentin (Neurontin).

Opioids, such as OxyContin or Percocet, can treat RLS, but they can also be quite addictive. Most healthcare professionals steer clears of writing them.

Finally, if your RLS is seriously interfering with your ability to sleep, your doctor may recommend muscle relaxants and sleep aids like clonazepam (Klonopin). While they don't completely get rid of your RLS symptoms, they could make it easier for you to sleep at night.

One thing to keep in mind is that treating RLS with medicine is a difficult and drawn-out process. Your doctor will normally do a number of tests before deciding on the best drug (or drug combination) for you.

Additionally, many of these drugs have negative effects of their own. For instance, many people experience symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and exhaustion after taking a drug that elevates dopamine levels in the brain.

Treatment For Restless legs Syndrome With A Weighted Blanket

In essence, Weighted Blankets are thick blankets that have been filled with fillers like glass beads or plastic pellets. There are many different weights and sizes of Weighted Blankets, but for optimal results, pick one that is about 10% of your body weight.

Numerous advantages of using Weighted Blankets include:

• Reducing tension
• Enhancing sleeping conditions
• Lengthening sleep cycles

Because they provide their customers a sort of deep touch pressure treatment (DPT), these Weighted Blankets are able to deliver these advantages.

Here is how DPT functions: Dopamine and serotonin, which are frequently reduced in people with restless legs syndrome, are stimulated by the extra weight of the blanket, which exerts mild pressure.

Your body will be more relaxed as a result, which will make it less likely that you will experience the jerky movements and uneasy sensations that are typical of RLS. Weighted Blankets can also help you unwind and sleep, which helps to reduce your symptoms indirectly. Addressing this specific problem can significantly enhance the overall well-being of RLS sufferers since the majority of them also experience sleep deprivation.

You might be thinking at this point, "Is DPT legal?" How can I tell if it really exists?

DPT has actually been used as a therapeutic technique for decades, and while it has only recently gained popularity among mainstream consumers, it is especially beneficial for children with autism.

According to a study in the journal Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, Weighted Blankets can help adults unwind and calm down. Researchers discovered that study subjects who wore a Weighted Blanket during wisdom tooth extraction displayed increased activity in the region of the nervous system that "takes over in times of low stress" in another study that was published.

How Can People With Restless legs syndrome Benefit From A Weighted Blanket?

The severity of restless legs syndrome symptoms can range from just unpleasant to downright agonizing. Here are a few ways a Weighted Blanket could make your life better if you have RLS.

Weighted Blankets are a good source of diversion. You may be paying more attention to RLS during the night, which is another factor that may make it seem worse. Weighted Blankets gently press against your body, which aids in diverting your focus from the unpleasant sensation in your legs.

• Weighted Blankets Lengthen And Improve The Quality Of Sleep.

RLS can make it difficult to get a restful night's sleep. You could feel the urge to stand up, stretch, or pace around your house, which might disrupt your sleep and make you drowsy throughout the day. Weighted Blankets have been scientifically shown to enhance sleep quality, which may help mitigate some of the effects of RLS even though they may not completely eliminate its symptoms. Weighted Blankets facilitate restful sleep by increasing serotonin, a chemical that aids in the production of melatonin by your body (the sleep hormone).

• Weighted Blankets reduce tension.

Weighted Blankets can also aid in reducing stress, which is a typical RLS trigger. Weighted Blankets essentially deceive your brain into believing that you are being held, lowering cortisol (the body's primary stress hormone).

• Weighted Blankets can improve your mood.

Having a bad mood after a night of RLS-related insomnia? Consider curling up under a Weighted Blanket. A Weighted Blanket's therapeutic pressure encourages the body to produce serotonin, one of the feel-good hormones.

Conclusion

It should be noted that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for RLS. A Weighted Blanket is NOT a panacea and cannot be relied upon to treat RLS.

We advise using a Weighted Blanket if there is even a remote chance that it will help you manage your RLS symptoms. Customers from all walks of life, including those with fibromyalgia, ADHD, and autism, continue to gush about how much our Weighted Blankets have improved their quality of life.

Head over to Better Sleep’s Blankets and make your selection if you want to try a Weighted Blanket for restless legs.

You may test out a Weighted Blanket risk-free because offering quality is the legacy of Better Sleep’s Blankets

Let's hope a Weighted Blanket can bring you some comfort.