CONCENTRATION TIP

When you are trying to get to sleep, and trying to overpower the sensations in your legs by concentrating hard on something, try concentrating on something that involves leg movements. This idea came to me after reading a letter from another RLS sufferer. He imagined a marching band going by...imagining the music, the instruments, and the hundreds of marching legs going by. He said it was as if the people in the band were marching for HIS legs.

I took this idea and decided to try concentrating on dancing. I'd taken up clogging, which is similar to tap dancing or Irish dancing. I found that I could go over a dance in my head, hearing the music and count out the beats while I imagined my feet doing the steps. The hard part is to keep focused. Everytime my mind wanders, I go back to the beginning and try to get further through the dance. I usually fall asleep by the third time through the dance. I would guess that you could do the same thing with imagining a bike ride or a jog through your town. Start from home, picturing your driveway, street, houses, signs, etc. If your mind wanders, start back at your front door and imagine it all again. Hum a marching tune in your head, and imagine your legs walking, jogging, or just pounding the pavement as you go.

THE IMPORTANT thing about this tip is to imagine something that involves leg movements. We know that physical activity and mental work, so if you combine the two you'll have a great therapy for your RLS attacks.

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