Night cramps can be a misery. Nothing is more annoying than suddenly waking up from a deep sleep at night with a huge cramp in a leg, calf or foot, forcing you to immediately get out of bed and stand on it and/or massage the leg. The sudden pain of a cramp immediately wakes you up from your sleep and not everyone falls asleep immediately afterwards. Often the cramp goes away immediately and you cannot immediately lie back down. Just walking to the toilet is not enough. Anyone who crawls back too quickly can get out of bed again. Sometimes, however, the nighttime cramps have an external cause that can be remedied quickly. It is good to pay attention to certain things.

The cause of night cramps

Everyone has it sometimes, but as we get older the chance of night cramps also increases. The older you get, the more difficulty the body has in recovering at night. The energy that the muscles have used during the day leaves waste products behind. That is more or less from one day to the next. Sometimes the amount is too large to be transported by the blood during the day. This often leads to cramps.

The lower legs and feet are the biggest problem

In that case, the remains of the waste must be removed at night. This is not a problem with many muscles. It can only be difficult with the muscles in the lower legs and feet. These are located farthest from the heart and the blood has more difficulty collecting them from there.

Have night cramps

Because the muscles do little work at night, the remainder of the waste can normally be processed and the body is ready for the new day in the morning. However, as you get older, everything works a little slower and less well. Exercising for too long and intensively can also cause a large accumulation of waste products in the legs.

Greater chance of cramps after a lot of walking

If you have stood and walked a lot during the day or done a lot of work, the chance of night cramps is greater than if you had done a little less. The blood then no longer processes the excess waste products and a portion remains in the muscles that must be removed during the night.

Exercising a lot produces extra waste products in muscles

Young people can also get night cramps. Athletes, but also young people who take long walks. Even with them, sometimes not all waste products can be removed during the day and in some cases nighttime cramps occur.

Resting occasionally is necessary

If new waste products are added the next day, you will eventually get very tired legs. As you get older, you should take into account that you will need to take a short rest period more often during the day, during which time it is best to lay your legs flat. The body then gets a few extra opportunities to remove the waste.

Adjustable beds are ideal for resting

However, there is another cause for nighttime cramps, which is more recent. Many people nowadays buy an adjustable bed that can be adjusted, often electronically, to a pleasant and relaxing position. The headboard can be raised. The foot end too and if there is a bend in the elevation of the foot end, so that the knee is also supported, you can lie on your back and relax. Ideal for a short rest period of course. All body parts are well supported and can relax.

Another simple cause of nighttime leg cramps

However, this position is neither pleasant nor good for long-term sleep. Most people lie on their side and a bend at knee height is not pleasant. The bed is therefore lowered slightly, but because many elderly people (and pregnant women) also suffer from accumulating fluid in their legs and feet, the foot end is raised slightly. In this way it is hoped that the moisture will be removed more quickly. That is correct, but sometimes the foot end is raised a little too much. That really poses a risk of cramps.

The blood has to work against gravity

A small increase in the foot of the bed is ideal and poses no problem. This helps remove moisture and any waste products more quickly. However, if the foot end is too high, the blood will be less able to remove waste products (and also fluid) from the legs and feet, because it will have to do so against gravity. The higher the foot end is, the more difficult it is for the blood vessels. It is then not possible to dispose of the waste in a timely manner.

Protest of the muscles due to too much waste

If the removal of waste products is too slow, the muscle will protest through rapid, painful contractions to speed up the process. You wake up from the cramp and have to get out of bed and walk and/or massage your leg so that the drainage process goes a little faster.

Disturbed sleep

Of course, this also has an effect on sleep. Once you have woken up properly and gotten out of bed, you often have difficulty falling back asleep and are therefore not well rested in the morning.

Only raise the bottom of the bed up to 8 centimeters

The foot of the bed may be raised slightly. That is indeed good to remove the excess moisture that has collected there during the day. However, more than eight centimeters of elevation is not recommended, as it significantly increases the risk of nighttime leg cramps.

More than 8 centimeters can cause problems

So if you have raised the foot of your bed more than eight centimeters every night, there is a good chance that you will get rid of your nighttime cramps when you lower the foot of the bed a little. It is a simple action that has an immediate effect.

Night cramps cannot always be prevented

Night cramps cannot always be prevented, but the above is often a cause. Everyone’s body works in its own way. In addition, lifestyle during the day is sometimes the cause of nighttime cramps. So try to alternate your daily activities. Not standing too much in a row, not sitting too much in a row, but keeping moving with common sense is the best way to sleep well at night and to avoid or even eliminate nighttime cramps as a nuisance.

People can also get cramps during the day

You can also get cramps during the day. This often happens after sitting in a certain position for a long time. Not every chair is suitable for sitting for long periods of time. In addition, leg length is important and not every chair is suitable for every person. One of the most annoying cramps you can get from this is cramps on the inside of the thigh. It usually does not disappear within a minute and can be extremely painful.

Massage vigorously for cramps

If you have cramps, always massage the area in such a way that you rub in the direction of the heart. Never the other way around. That makes sense, because in this way you help the muscle to get rid of stiffening and the blood (with waste products) can then flow away in the right direction. The cramp will disappear faster this way.

Combat the cramps by drinking more

Some people swear that drinking more makes the cramps go away. That is not unrealistic, because by drinking more the body absorbs more fluid from the intestines and the blood vessels will also benefit from this. They will then have more volume to remove waste.

Take foods that contain magnesium to combat nighttime cramps

Certain foods can also often help. It is a known fact that muscles respond to magnesium. You can of course take tablets for this, but certain foods already contain magnesium. Spinach, bananas and fish in particular are known for their good magnesium values. You could probably try taking some of it regularly. Elderly people who still have night-time cramp attacks despite eating these nutrients can still take magnesium tablets. That also helps solve the problem.

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