Leg Cramps at Night: Causes, Treatments, and Prevention

TheIndonesia.co - Have you ever imagined how uncomfortable it would be if you fell asleep and woke up because of leg cramps? Or have you ever experienced it? Leg cramps while sleeping are a health phenomenon that is quite disturbing.

So, what causes leg cramps while sleeping? How do you deal with leg cramps while sleeping?

A leg cramp is a muscle spasm in the legs when the muscles in the calves or the soles of the feet experience sudden intense contractions. It's very painful, and very disturbing when you sleep.

What Causes Leg Cramps while Sleeping?

There are several things that can trigger leg cramps while sleeping. In brief, it can be seen in the following points.

• Doing exercise without warming up or stretching, or even cooling down before you rest or sleep for the night.
• Decrease in the number of minerals, calcium, and magnesium, at the end of gestation.
• Standing too long on hard surfaces, sitting too long, or in uncomfortable positions on your feet while sleeping.
• Experiencing dehydration or electrolyte and mineral disturbances in the body.
• Intense exposure to cold air.
• Consumption of certain drugs (contraception, antipsychotics, high blood pressure medications, acid drugs, or steroids).
• Having diabetes mellitus.
• Excessive alcohol consumption.
• Having Parkinson's disease.

The things above can be understood, so you can take effective prevention steps. 

What to do?

To deal with leg cramps while sleeping, there are several activities you can do. The movement is ideally done for a moment when you feel leg cramps while you sleep. 

The following are movements or things that can be done to deal with leg cramps while sleeping.

• Get out of bed, and try walking or tiptoeing for a while.
• Drink water.
• Take a warm bath or try soaking the cramped calf in water.
• Remove the blanket covering the legs.
• Massage the leg muscles with your hands slowly, or compress them with ice.
• The movements or behaviors that you do may be simple, but some of the things above can really relieve the pain you feel due to leg cramps while sleeping.

For further treatment of leg cramps, it is recommended to consult with medical personnel. Thus, the diagnosis made will be better, so the treatment is also more effective.