SLEEP

All of the things I've mentioned on these pages have helped control my RLS. I am no longer unable to get to sleep and I seldom am awake for long during the night. It hasn't stopped the RLS from starting, but it keeps me from aggravating it with panic, and it allows me to sleep.

I've recently talked with someone here in my town, who has had RLS his whole life. While talking, he realized he's made it a point of always going to bed early. Sometimes, he leaves for bed when there are only a few minutes left to a great movie. His wife never understands. HE never really knew why he felt the urgency to get to sleep fast. While we talked, though, he said, "I think what I"m doing, is I'm just starting to feel the RLS kick in, so I get to sleep FAST!!!!" It's just a compensation behavior he picked up over the years, without realizing why he was doing it. He's a high school principal and NEEDS his rest. So...it's worked for him to basically AVOID the RLS attacks by out smarting them and going to sleep early.

So, MY best recommendation is to work hard to find a way to GET some sleep. THEN, do your best to stay caught up on your rest. Exhaustion DOES seem to be a culprit.




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