As the name suggests, this disorder affects primarily the legs but can also affect the arms. This medical condition, often appearing in otherwise healthy people, is not related to emotional or psychiatric disorders. People experience restless legs in many different ways but they all agree that the sensation, a very unpleasant, creepy, crawley feeling, that occurs in their legs when they are sitting or lying still, especially at bedtime. For some people RLS is very painful, but the pain is not like the pain of a leg cramp. RLS is also different from the problem caused when blood supply to the leg is cut off, such as when a person has sat on a foot for a long time and it falls asleep. The symptoms of RLS are also different from the pins and needles that a person with diabetes may experience. The pain and unpleasant feelings of RLS appear most often in the calves of the legs and are temporarily relieved by stretching or moving the legs.

Restless legs syndrome occurs while a person is awake, but can also affect a person’s ability to sleep. The constant need to stretch or move the legs to get rid of the uncomfortable or painful feelings often prevents a person with RLS from falling asleep. As a result, the person may be extremely tired during the day and unable to carry out duties or participate in normal activities.

RLS can further limit a person’s daytime activities by interfering with the amount of time a person can travel by car , airplane or any other type of transportation where sitting for a prolonged period of time is required. RLS may also put a damper on such things as movies or concerts or limit participation in business meetings. The sleep loss and disturbance of daytime activities may lead to feelings of anxiety and depression.

*Information taken from ASDA patient info brochure.