Night Leg Cramps On Seniors [Simple Remedies]

Night leg cramps on seniors are extremely annoying and very common. Seniors are not the only ones who suffer them though. Fortunately, nighttime leg cramps can be cured with simple remedies in most cases!

I actually have first-hand experience with excruciating leg cramps that randomly woke me up for years. This was when I was in my teens or a young adult.

I couldn’t figure out a single cause for them at the time. This is likely because there probably isn’t a single cause, but a combination of several causes like I learned later on.

The fact that I couldn’t find a clear cause for the cramps made them even more annoying. Sometimes I had them several nights a week. Sometimes I got cramps randomly a few times a month. At times I had six months break without any clear reason.

The cramps were painful enough for me to start dreading sleeping. Would this be another night I wake up with my calf cramping with agonizing pain and pulling my foot straight?

The only thing that seems to help during an attack was to force my ankle into flexion, essentially stretching the cramped calf muscle.

My cramps were always on my calves but the same mechanism can cause cramps in the hamstrings and the small muscles of the feet so you can try these remedies for them as well.

I personally noticed a connection between alcohol consumption and night leg cramps. Since I had the cramps regularly even when not consuming alcohol, I knew it wasn’t the cause, but it did increase the likelihood noticeably.

This led me to do some research on the possible causes of night leg cramps. Read on to see what I found out.

What causes nocturnal leg cramps?

So the alcohol connection was the clue that set me in the right direction. When you consume alcohol several reactions happen in your body due to the metabolism of ethanol and its metabolites as well as through the effects alcohol has on your central nervous system.

Without going into more depth the most notable side effect of consuming alcohol is dehydration. Dehydration itself is a known cause of muscle cramps.

It’s possible my cramps were caused by dehydration as I wasn’t really paying attention to how much I was drinking water. I suspected it wasn’t the only cause as I actually did always have a bottle of water next to my bed in case I felt thirsty at night.

The next clue is associated with dehydration. What do you do when you are dehydrated? You drink plenty of fluid, of course, most likely water.

Every time you drink large amounts of plain water (not mineral water), you dilute your system. Your muscle function is very tightly controlled by ions of salts, known as electrolytes. These include potassium (kalium in Europe), sodium (natrium) and magnesium.

If you don’t replenish the lost electrolytes due to dilution, your electrolyte levels can become too low. This is another known cause of muscle cramps. Especially magnesium.

When I used to get leg cramps I wasn’t very physically active. I spent most of my days sitting either at class or in front of my computer or the TV.

It is speculated that one of the main reasons for nocturnal leg cramps, especially in seniors, is shortened and weak muscles.

If you spend most of your days being sedentary, your muscles become short and tight. Their circulation also becomes worse.

A short and tight muscle is very prone to cramping. Cramping essentially happens when a muscle is contracted beyond its tolerance. A strong and elastic muscle has a much higher tolerance for contraction before cramping.

The mechanism that triggers nocturnal leg cramps is likely something along these lines:

1. You are either low on electrolytes, dehydrated or both.
2. You have weak and tight muscles
3. During sleep, you  get involuntary muscle contractions that are normally harmless
4. Because of the electrolyte imbalances, a normal muscle twitch turns into a deep contraction
5. The weak and tight muscle can handle the contraction and cramps
6. You wake up screaming in agony as your own leg is trying to kill you

Now that we have a hypothesis for the mechanism, let’s look at how to remedy the problem!

I actually haven’t had a nocturnal leg cramp in years since incorporating the following remedies so I can vouch that they work for at least for myself and several people I have recommended them to.

IMPORTANT MEDICAL INFORMATION: Some medications and medical conditions can cause leg cramping. Home remedies, especially supplements can interfere with medications or make existing health conditions worse. Always consult a medical professional to rule out serious medical causes before trying remedies on your own.   

Remedy 1: Hydrate

So if we look at our possible reasons, the first one is dehydration. Dehydration is a known cause of muscle cramps so it’s important to keep your muscles well-hydrated.

The trick is to drink enough water and other fluids while replenishing your electrolytes as well. I find the easiest way to do this is to simply replace some of my tap water with mineral water (affiliate link) that has especially magnesium and potassium in it.

Other than that the easiest way to make sure you get your minerals is to eat a healthy whole-food-based diet that includes fruits, whole wheat, and sufficient amounts of salt in relation to your activity levels and climate.

The more you sweat, the more salt you need but there is no need to go overboard. Supplements can be used to make sure you get the critical electrolytes every day. We’ll talk more about that in a moment.

Remedy 2: Stretch

So the second cause for cramps, especially in the calves are shortened and tight muscles and tendons. When you don’t use your muscles enough in their full range of motion they become immobile.

The easiest way to improve your muscle mobility is by stretching. The calves and the hamstrings are very easy to stretch with the common calf and hamstring stretches most people already know.

Here are some great calf stretches by James Dunne (embedded YouTube link, content not created or owned by ElderStrength):

You can also stretch the bottom of your feet by stretching your toes if you get cramps at the sole of your feet.

Besides stretching a fascia ball or a foam roller can be used to relieve tension and stretch the tissues to make the muscle more limber.

I find a fascia ball (Amazon affiliate link) is extremely useful and enjoyable for stretching and making the small muscles of the bottom of the feet mobile.

Remedy 3: Strengthen the muscles

Mobility is not enough to make your muscles more resistant to cramping. You also need to strengthen your muscles. This is because a strong muscle can hold a stronger contraction before cramping.

If you do any strength training or have done it before, you will know this from trying new exercises. Especially calf raises and hamstring curls are notorious for making your muscles cramp when you do them the first time, even with minimal weight.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence these are the common muscles that cramp during the night. When you are inactive, they are simply not used to contracting in the full range of motion. And they are weak.

The best way to strengthen them is simply with strength training. For calves, there is no better exercise than calf raises, and for the hamstrings the Romanian deadlift.

I recommend starting with a full-body beginner strength training program if you are new to this. This will gradually improve your strength and mobility while providing all the benefits of strength training like improved balance, posture, and healthier joints.

Remedy 4: Supplements

There are two supplements I have found useful for leg cramps. Magnesium and Creatine.

Magnesium

Magnesium deficiency is very common these days due to the industrialization of your food and the fact that the amounts of magnesium in the soil have reduced.

You aren’t likely getting enough magnesium in your diet unless you mainly eat seafood and whole wheat products so it’s wise to supplement with a high-quality magnesium product.

Many people swear that their leg cramps have been cured by simply supplementing magnesium. I didn’t find this to be true in my case but I think it made the cramps less violent and less frequent.

Be careful with the dosing. though. Magnesium is notorious for causing diarrhea. On the other hand, this makes it a great laxative if you ever need one.

Creatine For Seniors

Creatine is a sports supplement that essentially increases the amount of cellular energy stored within your muscle cells. Creatine will cause your muscle cells to store additional water as well.

The combination of increased energy stores and hydration increases the muscles’ work capacity but the added benefit is greater tolerance for cramping.

Creatine is a great supplement for seniors because it can improve your physical health but also improve your cognition. I think it’s one of the few supplements most people should be taking. Especially seniors.

I recommend getting a bulk creatine monohydrate supplement. Everything else is just marketing hype and not worth the extra price.

Conclusion

I hope you found these remedies useful and that they will resolve your nocturnal leg cramps. If you have any questions you can leave them in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you.

As a recap, If you are afraid you will have a leg cramp tonight, do this now:

1. Go buy a bottle of mineral water and drink it well before bed so you don’t have to wake to go to the bathroom
2. Before going to bed, stretch your calves or other problem muscle for at least 10 minutes
3. If you can get it straight away take some creatine
4. Start a strength training program first thing tomorrow!

I hope this helps. Trust me, I know how annoying nighttime leg cramps can be but if you follow these steps you should reduce your risk of having a cramp significantly.

If you found this post useful, remember to share it with your friends!

See you next time.