Your legs feel electric. It feels like worms or bugs are crawling inside your legs, causing an uncomfortable creepy-crawly, tingling sensation. You must move, you absolutely must. You can’t ignore it. It’s impossible. You can’t fall asleep, and you can’t stay asleep. The overwhelming urge to shake or move your legs is uncontrollable.

This is what it feels like to have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). And 7-10% of the US population suffers from it.

RLS can affect any age, race, or gender. This nervous system disorder can start during childhood and worsen with age.

RLS can also rear its ugly head in the third trimester of a woman’s pregnancy. The good news here is that it often subsides within a month of giving birth.

There’s really only one symptom of RLS: the overwhelming urge to move your legs. It may feel like tingling, pins and needles, an electric shock, throbbing, aching, or like something is crawling under your skin. Whatever it feels like to you, it’s definitely unpleasant.

• Worsening symptoms at night: Typically, people experience the symptoms of RLS later in the evening.
• Leg-twitching while sleeping: RLS can be extremely disruptive to sleep. People with the disorder often wake up with the urge to move their legs. RLS is also associated with a condition called periodic limb movement, where your legs inadvertently twitch and kick while you sleep.
• Sense of relief after moving: Because the symptoms of RLS include causing an overwhelming urge to move your legs, sometimes the only thing that can ease this feeling is by jiggling your legs, stretching, shaking your legs, or walking around.

While we hate to reiterate it, it’s important to understand that, as of right now, there is no “cure” for restless legs syndrome. But there are ways you can calm those twitchy, burning legs of yours: some natural and some medicinal.

• Medications: First of all, it’s essential to get an actual diagnosis of RLS from your doctor, to be sure you aren’t confusing your symptoms with something else. If you choose to go the medication-route, you should understand that most medications proven to help symptoms of RLS were technically designed for RLS. That means you’d be taking meds for some other disease.

Some of these medications include opioids, muscle relaxers, and medications that increase dopamine. Discuss the possible side effects associated with medications before jumping on this bandwagon.

• Warm baths and massages: Everyone loves baths and massages. (Well, most people.) Not only are they soothing for your mind and body, but they help relax your muscles. While it might not last, this can help you fall asleep.
• Alternate cold and hot: Some people have found relief from RLS symptoms through alternating warm and cold compresses on the leg muscles.

• Limit caffeine: Try limiting your caffeine intake, including coffee, tea, soda, and even chocolate. (We know - BOOOO.) Do this for a few weeks to see if there is any difference in how often you experience restless legs syndrome.
• Breathing exercises: Try breathing in for a count of four, holding for a count of four, breathing out for a count of four, and holding for another count of four before repeating. This is called “square breathing.” There are many breathing exercises you can do that can help relax your mind and your leg muscles. Several people say this helps ease RLS symptoms.
• Take your supplements: RLS is linked to iron and magnesium deficiencies. While bulking up on these can help relieve your symptoms, it’s best to get them from natural sources like apples, dates, honey, spinach, avocados, bananas, tofu, and plenty more. But if you can’t stomach those things, you can always turn to over-the-counter supplements. (Ask your doctor first.)

So many people with RLS suffer the unfortunate side effect of insomnia. But weighted blankets can help relax your body and muscles into getting some of the best sleep you’ve had in years.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to start easing your symptoms of restless legs syndrome with the help of a weighted blanket. And by the way, with our 100-night risk-free trial and free shipping, you have absolutely nothing to lose.