Sleep Disorders—Muscle Cramps

Also called: Charley horse

Muscle cramps are sudden, involuntary contractions or spasms in one or more of your muscles. They often occur after exercise or at night, lasting a few seconds to several minutes. It is a very common muscle problem.

Muscle cramps can be caused by nerves that malfunction. Sometimes this malfunction is due to a health problem, such as a spinal cord injury or a pinched nerve in the neck or back. Other causes are

• Straining or overusing a muscle
• Dehydration
• A lack of minerals in your diet or the depletion of minerals in your body
• Not enough blood getting to your muscles

Cramps can be very painful. Stretching or gently massaging the muscle can relieve this pain.

• Charley horse (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Muscle cramps (Medical Encyclopedia)

Is it hard for you to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night? Do you wake up feeling tired or feel very sleepy during the day, even if you have had enough sleep? You might have a sleep disorder. The most common kinds are

• Insomnia – a hard time falling or staying asleep
• Sleep apnea – breathing interruptions during sleep
• Restless legs syndrome – a tingling or prickly sensation in the legs
• Narcolepsy – daytime “sleep attacks”

Nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, sleep talking, head banging, wetting the bed and grinding your teeth are kinds of sleep problems called parasomnias. There are treatments for most sleep disorders. Sometimes just having good sleep habits can help.

• Changing your sleep habits (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Drowsiness (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Idiopathic hypersomnia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Irregular sleep-wake syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Isolated sleep paralysis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Medicines for sleep (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Narcolepsy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Nightmares (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Sleep and your health (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Sleep disorders (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Teenagers and sleep (Medical Encyclopedia)