While RLS is most pronounced at night some people feel the need to pace around, or keeping moving their legs while sitting. Others get cramps in their calves or feet.
Dr Michael Platt, author of Adrenalin Dominance, says “Excess adrenalin during the night can cause restless leg syndrome. People often have associated symptoms also resulting from elevated adrenalin, such as teeth grinding, the need to urinate, and tossing and turning, and they often awaken in the morning with low back pain’.
The idea that restless legs is a result of too much adrenalin is also supported by research that shows that levels of the neurotransmitterA neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger that carries signals between body cells. They are various types of neurotransmitters which play a major role in everyday… GABA, which switches off adrenalin, are lower in people with restless legs.1 Also, nocturnal blood pressure is higher, which is one of the effects of adrenalin, part of the ‘fight flight’ reaction to get lrapid circulation. Mood disorders are also more common.
Platt says “Characteristically, RLS patients have an excess of adrenalineAdrenaline is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands during high stress or exciting situations. This hormone is part of the ‘fight or flight’ response…., may toss and turn all night, be quick to anger, might be workaholics, will usually have fibromyalgia (aches and pains – low back, side of the hips, and grind their teeth), they might drink too much, and will be hypoglycemic (sleepy between 3-4 p.m. or when in a car), and so on. There is an associated over-production of insulinInsulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It is responsible for making the body’s cells absorb glucose (sugar) from the blood…. and an under-production of progesteroneProgesterone is one of the main female sex hormones…..”
The body produces adrenalin under two circumstances. Firstly, as a response to an actual stress to enable the ‘fight flight’ response. Secondly, as a response to low blood sugar levels. The brain is incredibly dependent on a permanent supply of glucose to function. So, when glucose levels in the blood are getting low it triggers an increase in adrenalin, while enables proteinProteins are large molecules consisting of chains of amino acids. Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body – they are a building block of… to be turns into glucose.
If the body detects a low blood sugar in the night, most usually occurring between 2.30 and 3am, up go adrenalin levels, triggering restless legs, the need to pee and other signs of adrenalin activation.
But why would a person’s blood sugar dip at night? Many people, through a lifetime of too much stress, stimulants, sugar and refined foods, lose good blood sugar control and become insulin resistant. Insulin is the first hormone to be released when blood sugar levels rise, to take glucose out of the blood into cells (or storage as fatThere are many different types of fats; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, hydrogenated, saturated and trans fat. The body requires good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) in order to… if you have more than you need). If you do this too often you start becoming insensitive to insulin. Your body then has to make more to get blood sugar down and this delayed effectiveness often means blood sugar levels go too low, which then triggers adrenalin. It’s all a question of balance.
Restoring blood sugar balance is key
The only real solution is to switch off adrenalin. One part of this is to balance blood sugar so there aren’t the dips that trigger adrenalin release. The way to do this is to follow a low glycemic load (GL) diet. The basic principles include less carbohydrates, and only eating those with a low GL, together with protein to slow down their sugar release, as well as eating ‘little and often’. I recommend three meals and two low GL snacks a day. Exactly how to do this is explained in my GL books such...
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