How to Relax and Sleep: Leg cramps and body tension after stroke

My whole body doesn’t tense up, but I do get leg cramps that keep me awake. I keep a pair of sandals that are easy to slip on near my bed. Putting them on helps a bit. Then I sit on the side of the bed, with my feet planted firmly on the floor, and that helps a bit more.

Then, as soon as I feel able, I walk about 10 or 15 feet, and usually the leg cramps subside and I can go back to sleep.

@fabia01 I too have trouble sleeping. I find that deep breathing a visualizing somewhere in nature like the beach or the forest will relax my body. The muscle cramps are another problem. I find that being hydrated helps and I keep a bottle of tonic water with quinine next to my bed. Just a sip or two takes the cramps away. Usually that’s after jumping out of bed to stretch out the cramp lol 😂 when I still can’t sleep, I count backwards from 1000. Sometimes it’s all futile and then I give in and read until I feel tired enough to crawl back into bed. Of course by then it’s almost time to get up. Sooo I sometimes take an afternoon nap to make up for the lost sleep. Good luck to all who struggle with insomnia and night cramps.

@grrranny - curious if you trace any of these symptoms of leg cramps or body tension while trying to sleep back to your stroke?

I have foot cramps often, what helps me taken 2 of these, I show the picture, sublingual ( under my tongue).
Restful legs from Hylands ( Amazon)

@lisalucier for sure it's due to my stroke 9 months ago. Never had a problem before that. Last night was one of the worst.