For many of us, restless leg syndrome keeps us awake for hours. No matter how much we try to sleep, our legs will cramp, twitch, and jolt, only to keep us up into the wee hours of the night, especially when we need our sleep the most.
RLS can cause involuntary contractions of the muscles in the leg, leading to debilitating cramps, kicking, the hypnic jerk, and even severe pain. In turn, we lie awake for hours wondering how we could ever stop these horrible symptoms.
If you are like most people, you have seen or heard of some pretty strange home remedies, many of which made you roll your eyes. And while the following may tempt you to commence the eye-rolling, hear us out.
According to many experts, sleeping with a simple bar of soap beneath your bed sheet is the cure we have all been looking for regarding restless leg syndrome. And while it may sound weird, or even crazy, even Dr. Oz has backed this simple cure!
Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends leaving a bar of your favorite lavender soap underneath your sheets overnight. He says that the scent of lavender is relaxing, thus easing your symptoms.
Of course, anything lavender would do the trick, but other doctors push the remedy even farther, saying that there is much more to the remedy than the scent. Actually, Andrew G. Kowarl, MD, a pain management specialist in Burlington, Massachusetts, says that soap gives off the chemical magnesium. This same magnesium aids in the relief of nightly leg cramps.
And while there is no evidence to support such claims, Dr. Jim Sears of the daytime show The Doctors conducted a Twitter poll. His poll discovered that 42 percent of people stated that the soap trick actually worked!
Like many natural remedies, there are those that swear by it and those that remain skeptical. However, for me, if something works, it works, and I will continue to swear by it regardless.
So, excuse me while I run to the local organic market to purchase a bar of homemade lavender soap. I know one girl who has some very extreme RLS, and could use some relief tonight!
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