What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome?
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has several major signs and symptoms:
- An almost irresistible urge to move the legs or arms when sitting or lying down
- An unpleasant feeling in the legs
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep because of the unpleasant feelings in the legs or arms
- Daytime sleepiness, which results from a lack of restful sleep due to the repeated limb movements
Urge To Move
RLS gets its name from the urge to move the legs when sitting or lying down. This urge is due to unpleasant feelings in the legs that are relieved by movement. Typical movements are:.
- Pacing and walking
- Jiggling the legs
- Stretching and flexing
- Tossing and turning
- Rubbing the legs
Unpleasant Feelings
The urge to move the legs usually is due to unpleasant feelings in the legs. People with RLS describe these feelings as:
- Creeping
- Crawling
- Pulling
- Itching
- Tingling
- Burning
- Aching
- Painful
- Hard to describe
Children may describe RLS symptoms differently than adults.
The unpleasant feelings in RLS usually occur in the lower leg (calf). But the feelings can occur at any place between the thigh and the ankle and also in the arm. The feelings are worse:
- When lying down or sitting for a long period of time
- During the evening or night, more so than during the day
The unpleasant feelings also:
- Make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep
- Are not as bad or go away when you move
Duration and Severity
RLS symptoms tend to get worse over time. They may begin in childhood and develop slowly over several years. People with early symptoms are more likely to have other family members with RLS than people who develop RLS later in life.
Symptoms tend to worsen faster when RLS occurs later in life. RLS that occurs later in life is also more likely to result from an underlying condition or illness than RLS that occurs early in life.
People with mild symptoms may only notice them when they are still or awake for a long time, such as on a long airplane trip.
