Willis-Ekbom Disease: a neurological disorder that causes neurons to misfire in the brain. Sounds impressive. What else is it called? Restless Leg Syndrome. *rolls eyes*

Sometime in the past I’d been told that Restless Leg Syndrome was one of those made up things like “Chronic Fatigue” that lazy people use as an excuse for their lack of accomplishments. (Ha! They’re both real.) I was surprised when I found out it is an actual medical condition with a respectable-sounding name. Anywhere from 5-15% of people have it, but largely it is an old Caucasian lady problem. (Of course.)

I have closer to the whole body type. Yes, it can affect not only the legs but the arms, torso and head as well. For me this stupid condition likes to show up at the same time every night and hang around for about 90 minutes. My choice is to stay awake until after it passes or let it wake me up after about 2 hours sleep. While some articles say that it won’t shorten your lifespan, others say that consistent lack of sleep can cause a host of other problems and THEY can shorten your lifespan.

What causes it? No one is really sure, but they suspect low iron levels in the brain (even if the blood tests normal), low dopamine levels or inadequate blood flow. The good news is that it gets worse as you age!

Hey, wait a minute….

Kick all you want. I like sleeping in my own bed better.