How I Finally Stopped Experiencing Leg Cramps at Night

Recently, I finally stopped going through painful leg cramps at night. This may sound odd, but I consider it an important achievement. Bree considers it a huge victory. After all, she doesn’t have to listen to me whining about it anymore!

If you’ve ever been through leg cramps at night then you know how important it is that I stopped mine. They usually started late in the evening when I was winding down, or once I lay down in bed. They made me miserable! They hurt and made me feel like I needed to kick my legs.

How to Stop Leg Cramps at Night:

The Problem with Leg Cramping

For a long time, I thought I was the only one who went through this. The feeling I stopped with leg cramps at night was focused mainly in the calf muscles. It occurred when the muscles would suddenly and sharply contract. On the worst days I’d feel it all the way into my feet. Mostly it was from the knees down.

Occasionally, just massaging the muscles could ease it, and I could get comfortable again. A bit of gentle stretching helped, too. But it was reaching the point that I was experiencing the muscle cramping more nights than I wasn’t. It didn’t usually cut into my sleep, but when I was trying to relax before going to bed, it made things pretty uncomfortable.

How I Stopped Leg Cramps at Night

I did a lot of googling and found out that there are a lot of reasons these cramps can happen. Many are unknown. That didn’t help too much. That said, I did find a lot of tips that proved helpful.

The tips I used to get things under control include:

• Hydrating later in the day – I discovered that I’d built a habit of irregular hydration. As much as I’m always telling people to hydrate, I wasn’t doing it properly! I’d sip at my water all day long, then have dinner…then barely have anything. I blame cold winter weather (because why blame myself?).
• Getting my minerals – Apparently, people who are low in potassium, magnesium and calcium often get leg cramps at night. So I got a magnesium and calcium supplement (lemon flavored!) and started having half a banana as an evening snack for potassium and the pain stopped.
• Showering at night – I started taking a quick warm shower in the evening just to relax my muscles. I don’t know if this actually helps, but it feels good before bed!