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Leg Cramps at Night: Causes and Remedies

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Charley Horse Causes and Remedies

Written By: Margaret Boyles Contributor

Eeow! Startled from a deep sleep, you suddenly come to with a shriek, as your calf, thigh, or maybe the arch of your foot contracts in violent pain. Commonly called a “Charley horse,” this is a common and painful occurrence. Discover what causes leg cramps at night, as well as how you can prevent and relieve them.

Usually, a leg cramp strikes during the night or when you’re resting. Groggily, you struggle to straighten your leg, pull your toes forward, perhaps kneading the knotted muscles with your thumbs. After the spasms subside, you may get up and try to hobble around a bit to loosen up the painful area a little more.

By now you’re completely awake, and you may not return to sleep. The cramped muscles may remain tender for hours or even days.*

The nighttime “Charley horse” is an age-old, global problem. Other languages use terms that translate into phrases like muscle hangover, wooden leg, thigh hen, thigh cookie, donkey bite, old woman, and water buffalo.

What Causes Leg Cramps at Night?

Sixty percent of adults say they’ve experienced nocturnal leg or foot cramps at some time in their lives.

Pregnant women and older people tend to suffer nighttime leg cramps more often than other groups, but medical experts say there’s often no clear explanation of why these nighttime leg cramps occur, listing many conditions that might bring one on, including:

  • Dehydration
  • Sitting all day in a cramped position
  • Standing for long periods on concrete floors
  • Electrolyte imbalance 
  • Hard exercise during the day
  • Neurological, neuromuscular, or endocrine disorders
  • Lumbar stenosis
  • A side effect of some drugs

Leg Cramp Remedies

When a cramp startles you from sleep, here are 5 tips to manage the problem:

  1. Take a few breaths and try to stay calm. Panicking may cause you to tighten the affected muscles even further and prolong or intensify the cramp.
  2. If the cramp is in your arch or calf muscles, forcefully extend your toes toward your head and hold the stretch until the cramp subsides. This will release the tension so that the muscles can relax. You may need to sit up, bend over, and pull your toes forward with your hands.
  3. If the cramp is in the back of your thigh, get up or roll out of your reclined position, bend at the waist, supporting yourself on your forearms, and keep bending forward until you feel the cramped muscles stretching out. Hold the stretch until the cramp abates.I’ve had good luck using a towel or a woven stretching strap to help straighten out especially vicious hamstring cramps.
  4. When the acut e pain subsides, get up and walk around a bit to bring oxygen to the cramped muscles. A cold pack or hot pack may help. I like the long, rectangular “beanbags” (cloth sheaths filled with beans or other seeds) heated for a couple of minutes in the microwave and wrapped around sore muscles. (Great for arthritic joints, too.)

How to Prevent Leg Cramps

If you’re prone to leg cramps at night, these 6 tips can help to stop cramps from happening again:

  1. Drink water! Don’t overdo it. Keep a water bottle with you throughout the day. If you’re serious about addressing leg cramps, simply set an alarm or reminder on your phone to drink water throughout your day. Monitor caffeine and alcohol intake. Tea, coffee, smoothies, fruit, and vegetables all contribute to your daily fluid needs.
  2. Loosen the bedcovers so that they don’t press your feet down and shorten the muscles of your arches, encouraging them to cramp.
  3. Start putting potassium- and magnesium-rich foods on your list to eat every day. Good choices: black beans, kidney beans, nuts and seeds, potatoes, sweet potatoes, leafy greens (especially beet greens), bananas, and other fruit.
  4. Go for a deep-tissue therapeutic massage with an experienced practitioner. Ask her/him to teach you the techniques for the muscle groups in the legs and feet, so that you can work the knots out before they become disabling cramps.
  5. A lot of uphill walking/running or stair-climbing shortens the back muscles and the muscles and tendons at the back of the legs, making them more likely to cramp later. Focus attention on stretching these muscle groups, especially after exercise.
  6. Stay flexible with a regular stretching. Here are two common stretches:

Basic calf stretch

Just stretching the affected muscles three times a week will help immensely. Here’s how to do it:

  • Stand with your palms placed against a wall, with arms stretched out
  • Step back with leg of affected calf
  • Lean forward on the other leg and push against the wall

  • You should feel a stretch in your calf muscle and the back of the leg.

Towel stretch

Do this stretch while you sit:

  • Keep legs outstretched in front of you
  • Point the toes of your affected foot at the ceiling so that the leg is engaged
  • Take a towel or neck tie and wrap it around your foot, holding it with both hands
  • Lift the leg slightly until you feel a good stretch

Hold stretch for at least 10 seconds, working up to 30 seconds. And perform each stretch 3 to 5 times. 

(Find more stretches here. Clicking the “Exercise Search” box on the right side.)

The drug quinine, once prescribed to prevent night cramps, is now rarely prescribed for this use, because the possibility of severe adverse reactions outweighs the benefits of its use.

If you start having far more frequent or severe attacks of night cramps, see your doctor for an evaluation to rule out a more serious medical condition.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Don’t confuse nighttime leg cramps with restless leg syndrome (RLS). RLS is annoying and may cause an aching sensation, but it’s not usually painful and doesn’t cause cramping. See home remedies for restless leg syndrome.

*Note: If your calf or thigh is swollen, warm to the touch, or discolored; if your pain gets worse when you get up and walk around and doesn’t subside after a minute or two, seek immediate medical help. Don’t knead or massage a swollen muscle. These symptoms could signal a serious, potentially life-threatening condition called a deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in a deep vein that can travel to a lung, where it can block blood flow.

Sleep

About The Author

Margaret Boyles

Margaret Boyles

Contributor

Margaret Boyles is a longtime contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She wrote for UNH Cooperative Extension, managed NH Outside, and contributes to various media covering environmental and human health issues.

Read more from Margaret Boyles

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Comments

<span>Brian Mccormack*</span> Wed, 01/27/2021 - 17:43
After a hard ride on my road bike I can usually count on leg cramps at night in bed. My go to solution to be rid of the cramps is 2 teaspoons of French's "CLASSIC YELLOW" prepared mustard, at the onset of the cramps. It works for me like a charm but is has to be the "CLASSIC YELLOW" style. Cheers, Brian from Vancouver
<span>Pat</span> Fri, 01/01/2021 - 23:35
Try an ounce or so of vinegar “with the Mother” diluted with water. It takes the cramp away very quickly. My husband had terrible night cramps and we kept it nearby at night. It always worked!
<span>Jeanette</span> Wed, 10/21/2020 - 04:58
I had leg cramps just stretching in the bed. After a few years of taking Rx of Potassium and still having them, I started using Magnesium. The Magnesium helped with my legs cramping and my sleep pattern
<span>Richard Seyfried</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 23:50
I complained to my old doctor a while back that I was suffering from leg cramps severly in the morning and that sometimes my toes would cross over and cramp up with very painful episodes. He told me to take Quinine. He said that they used to sell quinine tablets but he did not think they sold them anymore. So, he told me to drink a small amount of tonic water containing quinine. You can buy that in both the sweetened and non sweetend tonic water at any good grocery store. It does not matter which brand as they all work just as well. Just a quarter cup of it is all you need . ( yeah I know it does not taste good plain ) but it works!!! and besides do you know of any medication that does not taste awful. I have told my sister about this and it works for her , my neighbor across the street and also down the road ,they also claimed it works.I make sure I have at least one bottle of the water in my house at all times. It is better than suffering with a stiff muscle for hours until the muscle gets enough oxygen to it to relieve the pain naturally. Remember you do not have to slug down a whole 8 ounces of the stuff , Just a couple of ounces works !!!!!
<span>Dianne</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 12:05
I had frequent toe cramps at night and was advised to place a bar of soap at the end of the bed near your feet. I have been doing this for over 20 years. Works for me. If by accident, the soap falls from the bed, I will know as I will start having toe cramps!
<span>Ralph Holm</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 12:03
According to my friend ,Bob Sullivan MD back in the 1970’s he was a flight doc for the US AAir corps in the Pacific. The Brits commissioned officers got their allotted Gin and tonic daily ,but discovered the non coms were reporting to the infirmary in thos3 hot and humid climes by the droves. The “discovered “ gin and tonic did the trick . By the way we won that one !
<span>Ralph Holm</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 11:50
Like the enlisted blokes in the U.K. , I finally was made aware of the gin and tonic remedy. It’s worked for me since I was 30 and a heavy tasker and outdoor enthusiast . The gin is beneficial but the tonic water w quinine did the trick ....but low and behold , it may be bad for you ?Naw
<span>Hannah</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 10:27
As we age we lose magnesium. This causes the cramping. The most bioavailable form to use is magnesium oil spray rubbed into the calf muscles at bedtime. Once or twice a week is sufficient preventative for me..
<span>Ava Baker</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 09:22
If you're having a charley horse, pinching the indention between your nose and upper lips will help it go away. To prevent them, placing a bar of soap under the covers near your feet if an old wives' tale that actually seems to work. I don't know how, but it does seem to work.
<span>Jk</span> Mon, 10/19/2020 - 07:20
Must get enough potassium. Easy to do. Even french fries and potato chips have potassium.