What can I do about Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)?

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is the urge to keep moving your legs even though you don’t really want to. Quite often anxiety, heart palpitations, the feeling of aggitation and insomnia come along with this, sometimes cramps in the arms and legs happens as well if movement is stopped. Usually once RLS starts it will progress over the years with age. Other symptoms can include feeling like creepy crawlies are invading you, aches or throbbing, a pulling and/or itching sensation, but the good news is that sometimes it can go into remission for days, sometimes even years.

What are some of the natural things we can do to help ourselves with this? Check your blood sugar levels as this could be related to diabetes be it diagnosed or not. If you find it’s high then it’s time to start working on controlling your sugars with a good low glycemic diet, see if that makes a difference over time like a good month as a few days or even a week just isn’t long enough to feel a marked difference.

Check your iron levels too with your GP as sometimes an iron supplemement can help with this if you’re iron anemic meaning low saturations of ferritin and transferrin. Most over the counter or drugstore iron supplements cause upset stomach and constipation, try to go with a natural option that’s gentle if you can.

If you’re finding you’re craving things like cheese, nuts and chocolate then there is a very good chance that your body is telling you that you need more magnesium and if you are a weed lover to boot, you will need even more magnesium as marijuana can deplete the body’s stores of magnesium as well as reduce our ability to produce GABA, a calming neurotransmitter that if low, could be causing many symptoms.

Interestingly the symptoms of RLS are very similar to that of magnesium deficiency, I just wish that that was all it was, what a simple fix it would be and in some cases it is exactly that, the extra iron and/or magnesium just might do the trick! How much magnesium should you take? Start with what the label says and over time slowly increase it until either the symptoms subside or you notice your bowels becoming loosie goosey.

I myself don’t have enough time for a soak every day so I supplement with magnesium daily, mainly in the evening and I take mine with my D3 and calcium together as just like tumeric and black pepper, when put together they become far more productive and because a regular sleep pattern is important I love that this combo helps me to get a better night’s rest, maybe it will for you too? Let me know in the comments below which suggestion was most helpful to you!