Kyra asked:


I think I have insomnia, but so many people say they do I I’m just curious. It takes me anywhere from an hour to two or three to fall asleep, even more on bad days. I usually sleep a bit at least but…do you think that classifies as insomnia?

While the exact numbers are not known it is thought that several million people lose sleep every night because of restless leg syndrome. The exact cause of this frustrating and painful condition is not exactly known but the majority of studies done point to some form of brain chemistry problem. For the people who suffer from it finding a restless leg syndrome treatment is at the forefront of their needs.

It is classified as a neurological disorder that causes a crawling or tingling sensation along the upper legs that makes those who suffer its effects feel an uncontrollable urge to get up and move around to find relief. The sensations are often described as if an insect or something is crawling just under the skin of the legs, along with burning and tugging sensations. These sensations can be merely annoying all the way to excruciating pain.

When it comes to a restless leg syndrome treatment there are two basic approaches; the natural holistic route or using over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications. They are both effective at relieving restless leg syndromes symptoms depending on the severity.

Natural Treatments for Restless Leg Syndrome

The primary symptom of needing to get up and walk around works for the majority of people who have this disorder. Unfortunately the symptoms most often appear in the evening or just as the person is falling asleep causing them to lose sleep and suffer many sleepless nights. For these people a more permanent treatment is needed.

People with mild to moderate symptoms are recommended to make certain lifestyle changes which are shown to help with the symptoms. Stopping the use of alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine is the first recommendation followed by dietary changes that include supplements to offset deficiencies of iron folate and magnesium. In fact there is a growing consensus that an iron deficiency may be one of the causes of RLS.

Heat applied to the legs by taking a warm bath, using a heating pad or hot water bottle, or massaging a liniment such as Icy/Hot are all good ways to increase blood flow to the legs. Increased blood circulation to the affected areas provides soothing relief of the symptoms.

Prescription Drug Therapy for Restless Leg Syndrome

For those who experience more severe symptoms prescription drugs may provide levels of relief that the more natural therapies cannot match. Again, these only treat the symptoms as no known sure exists at this time. Four classes of drugs are currently used for the treatment of restless leg syndrome.

1. Dopaminergics – Used primarily to treat Parkinson’s disease, they increase the level of dopamine in the brain.

2. Benzodiazepines – Works as a sedative on the central nervous system. Prescribed primarily to help RLS sufferers sleep through the night.

3. Opiates – These drugs are used primarily to relieve pain and have been found to be effective in the treatment of restless leg syndrome.

4. Anticonvulsants – A class of drugs that work by suppressing sensory disturbances and severe muscle spasms.

The first step to finding a restless leg syndrome treatment is visiting a doctor. By getting the right diagnosis a treatment regimen can be built that best treats the individual symptoms. Every person is different and what works for one may not work as well for someone else.



By: Andrew Bicknell

About the Author:

steelgal asked:


Do you have muscle jerking apon sitting or lying down that causes your limbs or your body to jerk for about 5-10 mins. i am trying to decide if it is the medicine or the Narcolepsy. It is not seizures because I get up and it stops until I sit down again. Thanks.
I take it for Cataplexy, severe mucsle weakness that makes my legs give out without warning, swallowing difficulties and sleep paralysis. It has been a God send for those symptoms. These are full jerks where I come up out of bed orthe chair, no twitching about it. I only take paxil, because cetian antidepressants control Cataplexy and that is the only way i am allowed to drive and hold down a job.

NO REALLY I’M A GIRL asked:


so your significant other would go sleep on the couch?
I do this 4-5 times a week,because I hate sharing the bed,and it works!

regina asked:


more importantly, how do i get over it? i didn’t experience much jet lag going from california to england- we arrived at 8 am europe time. we took a few naps, went out, and got a full nights rest at 9 or 10. i’ve been home from italy to california for like 5 days, but i keep going to sleep at like 6 pm to 9 or 10 pm and waking up at 4 am to 6 am. how do i get over this?

illumistream asked:

Restless legs syndrome was first described in seventeenth century medical writings—and it’s been plaguing people ever since! Learn more at www.healthguru.com

Poser, Scene, Emo Kid asked:


i’m going on an 8 hour flight to france, and i would just like to know some. thanks

Jet lag can have a nasty effect on your body after you have taken a long flight. Historically, jet lag has had a reputation as not being a medically reputable ailment. It was often considered something that was in somebody’s head. It was thought of as an effect of long flights that only really gets to individuals with a weaker constitution. In reality, jet lag does have an actual physiological effect on the body. What happens is relatively basic; the change in time throws off your biological clock. The time that your body is telling you that you should be going to sleep is still in the time zone that you left when your trip began, but your body is now in a different situation. Your body may be telling you that you need to go to sleep because it thinks it is the middle of the night, when actually it is only the middle of the day. Extreme fatigue can lead to further symptoms such as dehydration, headaches and grogginess. In the end, jet lag leaves you barely functional. This can be bad if you are going on a pleasure trip to relax and get away from your day-to-day life. If you are travelling on an important business trip, then jet lag can be disastrous.

Rumored solutions for jet lag range from the mythical to the unhealthy. Many frequent flyers claim to have their own sure-fire methods of dealing with the ailment. However, there is not any one cure-all treatment for jet leg. Instead, there are a number of treatments available to alleviate the effects of jet lag. This will help ensure that your trip is enjoyable.

Treatment for jet lag starts well before take-off. Indeed, preventing the ill effects of long flights can start weeks ahead of time. One of the most important things to do is control your sleep patterns. Getting to bed and waking up at consistent times night after night and morning after morning will help get your internal clock functioning well. Then, when you get within range of your trip, you start messing with your internal clock a little bit. Depending on the way in which the time zones are changing between destinations, you adjust when you go to sleep. Go to bed either fifteen minutes earlier or fifteen minutes later each night, and alter your waking time (to whatever extent possible) in similar intervals. This will slowly bring your biological clock to a point where it can run at a similar time to the time at your destination. It is unlikely that your schedule will allow you to change your sleep patterns so much that you can completely mimic the timing of your destination, but the closer you get to matching the actual time difference will benefit you greatly.

Other methods of preventing jet lag are things that you may already be doing on a day-to-day basis. Eating right is an example of one way to fight jet lag. Taking in a proper balance of nutrients will stabilize your digestive system and give your body the right kind of energy necessary for your daily activities. This will make your body healthier overall, and in doing so help it to fight off the effects of jet lag. In the vein of general health concepts helping to fight jet lag, regular exercise is recommended leading up to a long flight. That does not mean that you will be immune to jet lag, just that the effects should be less severe. A final point of pre-flight importance is to remove stress from your life. This sounds impossible at first. After all, you are going on vacation to for that purpose. Take care of your travel plans well in advance. Take care of all necessary tasks ahead of time and avoid stress in close proximity to your flight time. Less stress will leave you more energized physically, mentally and emotionally. This will help you deal with jet lag.

Once on the plane there are wide varieties of things you can do. Wearing sound resistant headphones can help you sleep better. Sleeping on the plane can help your biological clock cope with the transition. Another simple solution to jet lag comes from wearing sunglasses. Your biological clock often works in response to the light that is around it. If the airplane is well lit, then your biological clock will think it is daytime and not allow you to sleep easily. Many seasoned travelers, with some medical support, claim that wearing sunglasses can actually trick your body into thinking it is nighttime while you are flying. However, to do this successfully you have to wear the sunglasses before getting on the flight, and for some time afterwards. This can become difficult if airport security asks you to remove them.

Jet lag can cause a negative effect on your vacation and by following these steps; your vacation can be much more enjoyable. Plan accordingly, when you travel long distances, and you are sure to have a wonderful vacation or successful business trip.



By: Nick Kakolowski

About the Author:

Sleep Apnea is a potentially dangerous disorder because it is a condition when breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

There are two main types of sleep apnea. The more common one is obstructive sleep apnea. It occurs when throat muscles relax and your airway narrows or closes preventing you to breath in. The brain, then, wakes you up for a moment to restore breathing. This process might occur between 5 and 30 times every hour during the entire night.

Central sleep apnea is caused when the brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.

Complex sleep apnea is the combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea.

Depending on which type of sleep apnea you have and how bad it is, you have many different options to treat it or make it more manageable.

Treatments for sleep apnea fall into several different categories:

Treatments for sleep apnea with breathing-assistance devices.

Surgery for sleep apnea in the cases when the condition is life-threatening

There are also home remedies, lifestyle changes and alternative treatments for sleep apnea you can try with the supervision of your doctor.

Treatments For Sleep Apnea

Some machines deliver air pressure, grater than that of the surrounding air through a mask placed over your nose while you sleep. This is called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and is just enough to keep your upper airway passages open and prevent you from snoring. It works for moderate or severe sleep apnea, but is somewhat uncomfortable and using it requires adjustment time. Trying on more than one mask and using a humidifier with your CPAP machine could be helpful. Always consult a doctor before you quit using the CPAP machine, since minor adjustments might fix the problem.

There are devices that automatically adjust the air pressure while you sleep and might be better than the CPAP. These are units that supply bilievel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) and provide more pressure when you inhale and less pressure when you exhale.

One recently approved airflow device is Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV). It learns your normal breathing pattern and saves it into a computer. During sleep the device uses pressure to normalize yout breathing and prevent pauses. ASV may be more successful than CPAP at treating central sleep apnea, but there hasn’t been enough research yet.

Easier to use than a CPAP but less effective are oral appliances. They are designed to keep your throat open by bringing your jaw forward. This sometimes relieves snoring and can treat mild obstructive sleep apnea. Oral devices can usually be supplied by your dentist. There are many different ones and it might take some time until you find the best fit. Always follow up with your dentist at least twice a year to reassess your symptoms and make sure that the fit is still good for you.

People whose tongue is the main source of obstruction when they lye on their back might benefit from tongue-restraining devices (TRDs), which is a suction cup that is gripped with the teeth and ***** the tongue forward.

Surgery For Sleep Apnea

When you have sleep apnea, your air passages are blocked or you have extra tissue around your nose and throat that may be vibrating and causing snoring. The goal of surgery for sleep apnea is to remove the extra tissue. There are several ways to do this:

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) – Extra tissue is removed from the rear of your mouth and the top of your throat, most likely including the tonsils and adenoids. If, however, there is tissue farther down your throat, it will not be removed during the operation and will continue to cause trouble while you sleep.

Maxillomandibular advancement – It makes obstruction less likely by moving forward the upper and lower part of your jaw from the remainder of your face bones, which enlarges the space behind the tongue and soft palate.

Tracheostomy – this is the most serious procedure, done only when you have life-threatening sleep apnea. A metal or plastic tube is inserted through an opening in your neck, to assist your breathing. The opening is kept covered during the day and uncovered at night.

Laser-assisted ululopalatoplasty and Radiofrequency ablation – these are procedures where your doctor removes tissues in the back of your throat with a laser or radiofrequency energy. They are used to treat snoring but are not recommended as sole treatments for obstructive sleep apnea. Other procedures for reducing snoring are nasal surgery and surgery to remove enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Lifestyle Changes and Home Remedies For Sleep Apnea

There are many things you can do on your own to manage or treat obstructive sleep apnea and possibly central sleep apnea.

Lose Weight

Quit Smoking

Avoid alcohol and certain medications

Sleep on your side or abdomen

Keep your nasal passages open at night

Treat heart or neuromuscular disorders

Treat allergies and respiratory infections

Alternative Sleep Apnea Treatments

Treating sleep apnea with tea therapy:

A cup of hot tea before bedtime can promote normal and restful sleep. There are several types of tea known for their ability to promote sleepiness:

Sleepy Time Tea

Chamomile Tea

Valerian Tea

Hops Tea

Catnip Tea

Treating sleep apnea with homeopathy



It is important you consult a homeopathic practitioner before you start any treatment. According to the constitutional type of the person different types of treatments will be recommended. Diet should be closely monitored, eliminating sugar and other allergic foods, since homeopathic practitioners believe sleep apnea is related to a loss of energy.



Treating sleep apnea with yoga

Yoga is appropriate for all ages and can greatly reduce stress and improve the quality of sleep. Their are breathing and relaxation techniques that will relieve your sleep apnea. The special type of yoga that promotes sleep is called Yoga Nidra, which in Sanskrit means Sleep. Yoga uses breathing and visualization techniques to help you relax, and it is recommended you do the exercises every night before sleep.

Treating sleep apnea with acupuncture

In Chinese medicine acupuncture has been used for a long time to treat sleeping disorders. Many techniques have been developed to improve the ease, duration, and quality of sleep. The procedure known as acupressure consists of applying to identified body points related to sleep issues.

For more information on treating sleep apnea and a detailed explanation of each sleep apnea treatment, please visit Cure Sleep Apnea Now.



By: Karen Brock

About the Author: