Reflection Paper On Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome is a neurological sleep disorder that makes you want to move you legs. Those who have restless leg syndrome get very little rest at night because rest increases this urge to move the legs.

Many adults can enjoy a drink or two from time to time without any issues, but just one drink can cause over seventeen million Americans’ lives to spiral out of control. Though most people do not have issues with drinking alcoholic beverages, many have a condition which causes their brain to function differently when they consume alcohol. This disease can be deadly for both the alcoholic and those around them. Alcoholism can control someone’s life, and even though it is a societal issue that is still being addressed, more people are seeking treatment to better themselves. Alcoholism, excessive consumption of alcohol that results in dependence, is caused by genetics and environmental factors that result in harmful effects on the body of the drinker and the safety of society; however, therapy and support groups are helping alcoholics recover today, and medications undergoing trial could allow them to live normal lives in the future.

Such patients endure a long list of sleep issues including insomnia, alpha wave intrusions, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome.

The Restless Leg Foundation has a tremendous amount of resources to help people gain a deeper unRLSHOMELOGOderstanding of what RLS is, why people get it, and how to live with it. Their work towards awareness and advocacy is my inspiration for this post. As educators I believe it is important to always be learning. This site can provide you with far more resources as well as answer specific questions about RLS.

Leandro Fornias Machado de Rezende, J. P.-L. (2014, April 9). Sedentary behavior and health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review. Retrieved from BMC Public Health:

Third, restless leg syndrome (RLS) also is a common sleep disorder. RLS is a neurological disorder that makes someone want to move their legs persistently. In some cases, body parts are persistent as well during sleep. Restless leg syndrome is considered a sleep disorder because whenever the constant need to shake the legs, it can make it hard to maintain sleep and the ability to get to sleep. One of the most common side effects reported that is related to RLS is sleep loss. Sleep lose can lead to diminished quality of life, sleepiness during the day, loss of memory, depression and many other symptoms.

It has a higher incidence in people who have other sleep disorders already - especially sleepwalking (it can occur during sleepwalking), restless leg syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. It is seen more commonly in women - probably because of their tendency to “diet” more frequently

PSG is able to detect sleep disorders through monitoring cycles and stages of sleep to identify disruption in sleep patterns (6). PSG studies are considered to be the “gold standard” to quantify sleep quality (7). Several outcomes are measured in the sleep laboratory sessions including: sleep efficiency, frequency of arousals, abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) readings, periodic leg movements (PLMs) and other sleep-related disorders. Three parameters are observed during PSG: electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), and electromyography of the submentalis (EMGsub). Though the EEG is the main variable that is analyzed, eye movements and muscle tone are also important in PSG studies (8). In addition to analyzing sleep stages

Many treatments for insomnia are nonpharmacological like, cognitive behavior therapy. Insomnia treatments can also be pharmacological, with many medications available to help manage insomnia symptoms (“Treating Insomnia”). Treatments for sleep apnea are much more complex, with treatments such as oral appliances, nasal resistors, continuous positive airway pressure, and oropharyngeal exercises. Many ranges of surgery are available to help people with sleep apnea also (“Treating Obstructive”). Certain medications could be used to help control narcolepsy. Lifestyle changes can also be done like, avoiding caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and scheduling daily naps (“Narcolepsy” WebMD). General measures like reducing caffeine and alcohol intake can greatly help symptoms of restless leg syndrome (Foldvary-Schaefer 100) . Physicians can also treat patients with restless leg syndrome with one of four types of pharmacological medicines; dopaminergic, antiseizure, benzodiazepines, and opioids (Foldvary-Schaefer

In the United States alone, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimate that forty million people suffer from a chronic long term sleep disorder, with another twenty million suffering from occasional sleep loss. Given those numbers it is no surprise that more research into how sleep disorders affect the human body and why they occur is being undertaken. Currently, there are more than one hundred known sleep disorders, narcolepsy being one. Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that occurs in roughly 1 in 20,000 people and exhibits has four major symptoms; excessive day time sleepiness (EDS), cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations.

Restless legs syndrome is a disorder of the nervous system that causes you have an overwhelming urge to move your legs or other parts of the body.

The most common sleeping disorder that affects an estimated 30%-50% of the general public is insomnia. Insomnia is persistent troubles or problems falling and staying asleep, this disorder can be treated but treatment is necessary. Scientist have hypothesized that insomnia can be caused by a problem in the part of the

But encouragingly, there are some ways we can deal with the situation either to prevent it or reduce its severity. The most crucial treatment approach is sleep hygiene. It is exercised by using the bed for sleep only and not reading or watching television, exercising daily, and avoiding caffeine. Another way to deal with the conditions is by losing weight. This helps more in treating obesity hypoventilation syndrome and insomnia (Postuma, et al. 2015). Pharmacological therapy also is an important aspect of treatment. Some drugscan be bought in chemists and administered under the doctor’s prescriptions. Observing proper diets and activities are equally crucial in the treatment of the disorders. It is best when patients avoid sleep- interfering substances like alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. Large meals and spicy foods should not be taken three hours prior sleep time (Wang, 2014). Lastly, long-term monitoring is only required for severe cases. This calls for the intervention of experienced medical personnel or a psychiatrist to monitor and examine the condition for the establishment of a proper

The individuals suffering from these disorders usually present with sleep/wake complaints of dissatisfaction regarding the quality, timing and amount of their sleep. These disorders habitually result in daytime distress and impairments, which are the core features, shared by all of these sleep

Alcoholism is a very serious disease, which can cause illness, death, injuries, schooling problems, family breakups, and crime. It is a proven fact the alcohol kills more people than any other illegal drugs combined. However, alcohol courses freely through American society, from college bars to corporate lunches. In a recent journal article by The Scientist, it is stated, "Technology shows alcohol abuse changes brain's molecular programming and circuitry? (Scientist). Thus revealing that alcohol is a quick fix that will hurt us all in the long run.