Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless Legs Syndrome, Insomnia and Brain Chemistry

A story today May 7, 2013 in Neuroscience News at MedicalXpress.com reads:
Johns Hopkins researchers believe they may have discovered an explanation for the sleepless nights associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), a symptom that persists even when the disruptive, overwhelming nocturnal urge to move the legs is treated successfully with medication.

Neurologists have long believed RLS is related to a dysfunction in the way the brain uses the neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical used by brain cells to communicate and produce smooth, purposeful muscle activity and movement. Disruption of these neurochemical signals, characteristic of Parkinson’s disease, frequently results in involuntary movements. Drugs that increase dopamine levels are mainstay treatments for RLS, but studies have shown they don’t significantly improve sleep. An estimated 5 percent of the U.S. population has RLS.
[Read more: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-restless-legs-syndrome-insomnia-brain.html]

Thank God, new drugs for Restless Leg Syndrome, so glad drug companies care. But if you’d rather not have to deal with the inevitable side effects and toxicities of taking a drug for what is in large part a nutritional issue, make sure you’re getting generous daily divided doses of the B-complex and electrolytes. It would be a good idea to sip on the Beyond Tangy Tangerine too. And a daily dose of 1000-2000 mg of magnesium glycinate and a couple of grams of calcium aspartate wouldn’t hurt either.

Below, sleep pattern of a Restless Legs Syndrome patient (red) vs.
a healthy sleep pattern (blue). Y-Axis shows “Stage of Sleep.

Restless Legs Syndrome sleep patterns

By RLS-Schlafmuster.png: Markus Mueller derivative work via Wikimedia Commons

Posted by postmaster in Health News