Today's #Sleeptember focus --- September 23 is Restless Legs Awareness Day

The Swedish neurologist Karl-Axel Ekbom first described the syndrome commonly known as "Restless Legs Syndrome" or RLS in 1945.

Also known as Willis-Ekbom Disease (WED), RLS is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs (and sometimes also the arms) as well as uncontrollable urges to move the limbs when at rest.

It's a serious condition that can prevent a person from falling asleep; it can also persist throughout the night even while someone is sleeping, fragmenting sleep and preventing quality deep sleep from happening if left untreated.

A rhythmic movement disorder of sleep known as Periodic Leg Movement Disorder (PLMD) is a separate version of RLS in which the person who is sleeping undergoes specific patterns of leg movement during sleep that can be traced on an overnight polysomnogram.

Statistics posted at the What is RLS? website suggest that approximately three percent of adults are significantly affected by this disorder, which severely affects sleep, work, relationships, and quality of life."

#SLEEPTEMBER

Several organizations have joined together to sponsor this awareness day, including the World Association of Sleep Medicine, the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group, the European Alliance for Restless Legs Syndrome, the Willis-Ekbom Disease Foundation and the European Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group.

Scientists still do not know conclusively what causes this disorder, but treatments are available for those who suffer.

Do you suspect that you or a loved one might be suffering from RLS or PLMD?  

Learn more here:

• What is RLS? 
• The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation
• Follow the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation on Facebook
• Follow the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation on Twitter @RLSFoundation
• Learn more about Periodic Leg Movement Disorder from Cleveland Clinic, the National Sleep Foundation or the American Sleep Association.

Today is Restless Legs Awareness Day || What does this have to do with sleep?

The folks at the Willis-Ekbom Disease Foundation want you to know... those jumpy, twitchy, tingly legs that you can't seem to calm down during the day are not something to ignore.

Willis-Ekbom Disease (WED), better known as Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurologic disorder that significantly affects approximately three percent of adults, who find the condition disruptive to their sleep, work, relationships, and quality of life. There is no cure for this condition but lifestyle corrections and some medical treatments can alleviate many of its symptoms.

RLS typically occurs during the day, but it can follow sufferers into their nighttime activities and make it difficult to fall asleep or to maintain deep sleep. This refers to a related nighttime condition: Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). Approximately 80 percent of RLS sufferers also have PLMD; however, some people only have PLMD, so the condition requires an overnight study to rule in or out, based on your doctor's judgment.

PLMD is characterized by rhythmic movements of the legs (and sometimes the arms) during sleep. These movements are very different from the normal spasms, called hypnic myoclonia, that we often experience initially while trying to fall asleep, in that they occur periodically and rhythmically throughout the night in clusters.

Patients frequently do not recognize they have this disorder and often learn about it through complaints and concerns expressed by their sleep partner.

When a patient undergoes a sleep study, periodic leg movements are one of the symptoms that doctors hope to identify as a cause for poor or fragmented sleep. It's not clear what causes these movements to happen, though recent research shows that narcolepsy, Parkinson's disease, and antidepressant usage may be connected to PLMD.

Treatments for PLMD include pharmaceuticals and lifestyle changes. Drugs for Parkinson's disease are a first line of defense, but narcotics, anticonvulsants and other prescription sleep medications can also be useful. Patients can avoid late meals, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol to alleviate their condition; antidepressant medications may also need to be reviewed by a physician to rule them out as a cause of the disorder.

The Brain Foundation has a nice survey of RLS here.

Check out this study from Neurology India 

Check out this video at the SHC YouTube channel as well.

Mailbox: Your questions answered || Sleep Starts

Question: Why do I sometimes jerk myself awake just as I'm falling asleep? Is this something to worry about? -- C.E.

Answer: What you describe is commonly known as hypnic jerks or sleep starts. These are generally harmless physical processes that occur while your brain and body make the transition from wake to sleep.

Doctors don't actually know why they happen, though a common theory is that any residual electrical activity in the muscles during the wake/sleep transition may present like this as the body moves to a restful state.

According to the Mayo Clinic, at least 70 percent of people experience these sensations from time to time. They are considered normal.

If you struggle with this every night, however, you should discuss this with your doctor as regular twitching at bedtime might actually relate to the emergence of Restless Leg Syndrome or some other underlying neurological condition you may not be aware of.

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