What is an effective remedy for nighttime leg cramps?

I have used magnesium supplants for years and it really helped. I don’t know what causes them (sorry) but once I started the magnesium they just about disappeared.

I use magnesium glycinate, it has very little laxative effect.

Good luck!

Ack. “Supplements” not “supplants”. Silly auto correct.

be sure to use a form of magnesium that’s easily absorbed. A chelated magnesium helps. Also, some habits and medical conditions can inhibit your ability to absorb magnesium.

https://www.greenwaybiotech.com/blogs/personal-care-articles/how-to-improve-magnesium-absorption-in-your-body

https://www.sltrib.com/sponsored/2023/04/27/17-best-magnesium-supplements/

Flexing your foot as you feel one coming on can stop it from happening or get you out of one. The flexed foot stretches your calf muscle.

I can’t emphasize enough to get your vitamin D level checked, and if it’s low take supplements to get the level up into normal range. The reason I emphasize it is because a lot of doctors ignore or don’t believe in a relationship between D and muscle weakness and cramps, but if you come back with your D at 20, when it should be above 32 then your doctor will help you track how much D you are taking and of it is effectively getting you into the normal range. Maybe you have already been tested recently? If so, check your number. By the way it was a doctor who first tested me, and I doubted it had anything to do with my cramps. Now, I know she was right.

Your doctor will likely test your electrolytes like sodium and potassium, which are important to be in normal range to avoid muscle cramps also, but if you always have those numbers normal, eating a banana isn’t likely to help, and I refer back to vitamin D.

Staying well hydrated is important, but during sleep that isn’t easy. If your sodium level is low you might be losing a lot of water.

While you’re awake your foot is flexed most of the time helping to avoid the cramp.

Lastly, Magnesium is well absorbed through the skin, there is a such thing as too much magnesium, so don’t over do. You can use Epson salts or buy magnesium oil spray, and spray directly on the muscle a few times a week. I find the spray works well for some immediate relief.

You can get your magnesium level tested also, blood test, if you’re curious. Most people are in normal range. Vitamin D a different story, something like 35% of the US population is deficient, and it’s very common even in sunny places like your state. We who live in the sun usually protect ourselves from the sun the most.

Electrolytes. Hydration status.
Make stretching a habit.

Everything everybody said above, and especially staying hydrated. Interestingly enough, I think when we get a cramp in our leg, we feel that the best reaction is to try and relax the muscles so that the cramp will go away.

One time in the middle of the night I got this charlie horse, this leg cramp, that would not go away. No amount of deep breathing, trying to relax, etc would work. I finally grabbed my phone and desperation and googled leg cramps. Imagine how surprised I was when I read that you should actually tighten up on the muscle. I thought, no way! That’s the exact opposite of what you want to do, right? And I don’t know if it works in every case, but I did it and the cramp went away almost immediately. So maybe keep that in mind if you get another one.

Wrap your legs in warm towels.

Read item number three. https://www.lybrate.com/topic/green-tea-side-effects-and-why-you-may-need-to-avoid-it/074537d05c743d81a1e03263ea1d4fcb

I do find as @JLeslie suggested either flexing my foot or stretching and massaging the leg helps work out the cramp but I don’t get them often so haven’t tried prevention. (As you can see from my avatar, maybe sitting on ice and having very short legs helps, too!)

Leg cramps sometime come from dehydration. A glass of water might help.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14170-leg-cramps

It’s worth checking your B12 and iron also, or if not iron your CBC will show your red blood cell counts. If you have had any recent blood tests for a check up probably they did a CBC. If your B12 is low normal I would take B12. B12 lab ranges are lower in America than other countries, and what if the other countries are right. I think of B12 as more nerve related, but the whole bone, muscles, nerve is working together.

Maybe stretching helps too? I don’t know, but thinking about it logically. Generally, the longer your muscle the less likely to have injuries, so that’s good anyway.

I was having cramps – but not full blown, just right on the edge of becoming one – every single night, 5–8x/night. The slightest movement of my foot would bring them on. This was in both legs, but moreso in the left. Often I had to actually get out of bed and do a wall/leg stretch to stop it. Needless to say I lost a lot of sleep on those nights.

I began taking 250mg of magnesium oxide (just the one I grabbed off the shelf) twice a day and it helped. Eventually I lowered it to once/day. Now, as soon as I feel one coming on I raise my toes to the ceiling for 10–15 seconds, then see if I can let it relax. If it doesn’t, I raise my toes again and continue this until it’s willing to relax. I rarely have cramps anymore. I never really found out why they suddenly began happening. But those suckas are no joke!

They’re terribly painful for me I can hardly breathe when it hits. Lucky if I wake up to catch it early, raising my toes which stops the process. If not and it already started I still raise my toes…painfully…until the pain subsides. A full blown attack is always excruciatingly painful. Hate it.

I usually get out of bed and walk it off.

Walking is flexing your foot. Raising your toes up is flexing your foot. I only qualify this to make sure the OP understands what flex means. I take it for granted as someone who took dance class that people know what flex means, but I might be wrong about assuming that. Flex is the opposite of pointing your toes.

When I wake up in the morning, I frequently experience severe cramps in my calf muscle when I start to get out of bed. Stretching before I pull back the covers only makes it worse, as did following the suggestion to point my toes down. Pointing them up, however, worked this morning. I will try this again and will let you know the results.

p.s. Thanks to JLeslie for sharing the difference between pointing and flexing.

^^I’m glad it helped! Once you know to do it, you will likely start to do it in your sleep if a cramp starts to come on. Your brain learns how to avoid the cramp. It’s like not falling out of bed, even your sleeping brain knows the limits and the danger.

Check your vitamin D next time you have a blood test if they don’t usually check it. I’d be curious if yours is low and if getting the number up over 40 helps. Normal is 30–100. I start to see improvement around 35.

How often do you eat bananas? I get awful leg &/or foot cramps after eating bananas, even if it’s just a small amount in a smoothie it’s enough to trigger a mild cramp.

Thanks @JLeslie. I am taking more than the minimum suggested amount of vitamin D. I appreciate the thought.

^^I’m not advising to take a lot more D, but I do advise taking the test. I have to take about 50,000 IU’s a week, I don’t seem to absorb it well. The only way to know is with the test.

So, @Hawaii_Jake, did anything help?

Yes, please update us!

I actually didn’t use anything, but the cramps have stopped. Go figure. I appreciate all the information. If they return, I will certainly refer here to know what to do.

I remembered this, because I was out of town for a couple of days, didn’t stay hydrated enough and forgot my supplements (really, I need a mommy!) and started having nighttime leg cramps. I know how to alleviate them at the time, but once I am hydrated and magnesiumed again, I hope they won’t come back!