【What should you do if you have cramps while sleeping? Can socks prevent it?】
Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night due to rapid muscle contractions and pain in your feet? This condition is called cramps, or muscle spasms. Poor blood circulation in the feet and excessive exercise are the most common causes of cramps. Simply wearing socks made of graphene or bamboo charcoal fibers with infrared functionality to help keep your feet warm and promote blood circulation while sleeping, or doing stretching exercises and wearing functional sports socks before and after exercise can reduce the risk of exercise-related injuries and cramps! Besides these two conditions, there may be other possible causes of cramps, so it is recommended that you maintain a healthy lifestyle and proper diet on a daily basis in order to have a healthy and happy life!
1.Why do we get cramps?
Cramps are usually caused by various factors, such as lack of exercise, sudden intense exercise without proper stretching, over-exercising causing muscle tension, poor posture, inadequate hydration, and other factors such as pregnancy, medication, and metabolic abnormalities that can lead to poor blood circulation. Socks made of graphene and bamboo charcoal fibers with infrared functions can help reduce the occurrence of cramps because they can improve the insulation and heat retention of the feet and promote blood circulation. If you want to prevent or relieve foot cramps, wearing socks with these functions is a good choice.
Cramps are usually caused by various factors, such as lack of exercise, sudden intense exercise without proper stretching, over-exercising causing muscle tension, poor posture, inadequate hydration, and other factors such as pregnancy, medication, and metabolic abnormalities that can lead to poor blood circulation. Socks made of graphene and bamboo charcoal fibers with infrared functions can help reduce the occurrence of cramps because they can improve the insulation and heat retention of the feet and promote blood circulation. If you want to prevent or relieve foot cramps, wearing socks with these functions is a good choice.
2.Five ways to prevent cramps
Currently, there is no medication in medicine that can target cramps. In order to help everyone avoid the impact of cramps, it is recommended that you make changes to your daily habits and reduce the possibility of cramps by improving your lifestyle habits.
（1）Regular exercise and stretching before bed:
Try to keep your body healthy and exercise 3-4 times a week. If you are busy, you can also take out 1-2 evenings a week to go swimming or participate in a water aerobics course, which is beneficial to strengthen leg muscles. Remember! Wear functional sports socks before exercising and do preventive stretching exercises to avoid foot arch, ankle, and muscle injuries. Stretching exercises include lunges and calf muscle stretches. In addition, during exercise, according to your own physical condition, avoid sudden intense exercise that causes physical discomfort.
In addition to exercise, stretching before bed can also prevent leg cramps, allowing the muscles to relax a bit. Common stretching exercises include:
a. Lunge stretch back foot and hold for 3 seconds to make the calf feel tight, repeat 3 times.
b. Push the wall with both hands, stretch the lower limbs in a lunge, stretch the calf muscles for about 15-30 seconds, and then switch to the other foot.
If you have done more intense exercise during the day, remember to cool down and massage before going to bed to help lactic acid metabolism, so that the muscles are not too tense!
Currently, there is no medication in medicine that can target cramps. In order to help everyone avoid the impact of cramps, it is recommended that you make changes to your daily habits and reduce the possibility of cramps by improving your lifestyle habits.
（1）Regular exercise and stretching before bed:
Try to keep your body healthy and exercise 3-4 times a week. If you are busy, you can also take out 1-2 evenings a week to go swimming or participate in a water aerobics course, which is beneficial to strengthen leg muscles. Remember! Wear functional sports socks before exercising and do preventive stretching exercises to avoid foot arch, ankle, and muscle injuries. Stretching exercises include lunges and calf muscle stretches. In addition, during exercise, according to your own physical condition, avoid sudden intense exercise that causes physical discomfort.
In addition to exercise, stretching before bed can also prevent leg cramps, allowing the muscles to relax a bit. Common stretching exercises include:
a. Lunge stretch back foot and hold for 3 seconds to make the calf feel tight, repeat 3 times.
b. Push the wall with both hands, stretch the lower limbs in a lunge, stretch the calf muscles for about 15-30 seconds, and then switch to the other foot.
If you have done more intense exercise during the day, remember to cool down and massage before going to bed to help lactic acid metabolism, so that the muscles are not too tense!
From the above, it can be seen that the most common cause of cramps is poor blood circulation and excessive exercise. If you have cramps, it is recommended that you wear functional sports socks for exercise, and wear graphene socks, bamboo charcoal fiber socks, and far-infrared socks when sleeping, and observe whether cramps still occur.
（2）Take in sufficient water:
Water accounts for about 60-70% of the body and is essential for the human body. Water can stabilize muscles and help them stretch and contract, so whether you are exercising or not, before and after exercise, you need to replenish water at any time to help the muscles function properly. Do you know how much water you need to drink every day? In fact, the amount of water you need to drink should be adjusted according to age, gender, diet, weather, physical condition, medication, or activity level. If there are no special medical conditions,adults should supplement their body weight multiplied by 30-40cc of water per day. If the water intake is not enough, it may cause electrolyte imbalance in the body, causing abnormal muscle contraction and cramps.
Water accounts for about 60-70% of the body and is essential for the human body. Water can stabilize muscles and help them stretch and contract, so whether you are exercising or not, before and after exercise, you need to replenish water at any time to help the muscles function properly. Do you know how much water you need to drink every day? In fact, the amount of water you need to drink should be adjusted according to age, gender, diet, weather, physical condition, medication, or activity level. If there are no special medical conditions,adults should supplement their body weight multiplied by 30-40cc of water per day. If the water intake is not enough, it may cause electrolyte imbalance in the body, causing abnormal muscle contraction and cramps.
（3）Balanced Nutrition:
The body relies on the nutrients provided by the food we eat to keep our organs functioning properly. People who often experience cramps can consume more vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other nutrients on a daily basis. These nutrients are found in common foods such as bananas, sweet potatoes (containing calcium, magnesium, and potassium), milk (containing calcium, potassium, and sodium), and dark vegetables (containing calcium and magnesium). Therefore, it is important to supplement with more vegetables and fruits to keep the body full of nutritional value and reduce the possibility of cramps.In addition, about 90% of people in Taiwan lack calcium, so drinking a glass of milk before bedtime can not only supplement calcium but also help sleep!
The body relies on the nutrients provided by the food we eat to keep our organs functioning properly. People who often experience cramps can consume more vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other nutrients on a daily basis. These nutrients are found in common foods such as bananas, sweet potatoes (containing calcium, magnesium, and potassium), milk (containing calcium, potassium, and sodium), and dark vegetables (containing calcium and magnesium). Therefore, it is important to supplement with more vegetables and fruits to keep the body full of nutritional value and reduce the possibility of cramps.In addition, about 90% of people in Taiwan lack calcium, so drinking a glass of milk before bedtime can not only supplement calcium but also help sleep!
（4）Pay attention to keeping your feet warm:
Insufficient foot warmth can easily lead to poor blood circulation and cramps. It is recommended to promote blood circulation through methods such as taking a hot bath or applying heat. The following are ways to keep warm and promote blood circulation:
a. Take a hot bath 1-2 hours before bedtime, and use warm water to rinse the areas prone to cramps.
b. Use an electric blanket to apply heat to the calves and feet.
c. Apply a hot towel or heating pad to the areas prone to cramps.
d. Soak your feet in hot water before bedtime, soaking up to the calves if possible.
e. Wear wide-mouthed socks, angora socks, or other warm socks.
f. Wear socks that can promote blood circulation and help increase warmth, such as graphene socks or infrared socks.
The above methods can promote blood circulation, enhance warmth, prevent and improve night leg cramps. However, be careful! The skin is very fragile and easily burned. The temperature of the hot towel or electric blanket that touches the skin should be lower than 45 degrees, and the time should not exceed 15 minutes to prevent excessive dilation of blood vessels and burden on the heart. In addition, in the summer when the air conditioner or fan is blowing, pay attention to whether the wind is blowing directly on the feet. When the temperature difference between body temperature and the outside temperature is more than 7 degrees Celsius, it is easy to experience cramps. It is recommended to wear wide-mouthed socks or other lightweight socks to help keep your feet warm in the summer. So, pay attention to keeping your feet warm not only in winter but also in summer!
Insufficient foot warmth can easily lead to poor blood circulation and cramps. It is recommended to promote blood circulation through methods such as taking a hot bath or applying heat. The following are ways to keep warm and promote blood circulation:
a. Take a hot bath 1-2 hours before bedtime, and use warm water to rinse the areas prone to cramps.
b. Use an electric blanket to apply heat to the calves and feet.
c. Apply a hot towel or heating pad to the areas prone to cramps.
d. Soak your feet in hot water before bedtime, soaking up to the calves if possible.
e. Wear wide-mouthed socks, angora socks, or other warm socks.
f. Wear socks that can promote blood circulation and help increase warmth, such as graphene socks or infrared socks.
The above methods can promote blood circulation, enhance warmth, prevent and improve night leg cramps. However, be careful! The skin is very fragile and easily burned. The temperature of the hot towel or electric blanket that touches the skin should be lower than 45 degrees, and the time should not exceed 15 minutes to prevent excessive dilation of blood vessels and burden on the heart. In addition, in the summer when the air conditioner or fan is blowing, pay attention to whether the wind is blowing directly on the feet. When the temperature difference between body temperature and the outside temperature is more than 7 degrees Celsius, it is easy to experience cramps. It is recommended to wear wide-mouthed socks or other lightweight socks to help keep your feet warm in the summer. So, pay attention to keeping your feet warm not only in winter but also in summer!
（5）Change sleeping positions and reduce foot weight:
When sleeping, try to sleep on your side, because the supine position will make the feet continue to be downward, which is very easy to cause cramps. Therefore, try to keep the feet up, and if cramps occur suddenly in the calf when sleeping on your side, you can immediately bend your foot up to relieve the pain. In addition, heavy blankets can also put pressure on the feet during sleep, causing them to bear extra weight. It is recommended to replace heavy blankets with soft ones, so that the feet can naturally lift up and not be under unnecessary pressure.
When sleeping, try to sleep on your side, because the supine position will make the feet continue to be downward, which is very easy to cause cramps. Therefore, try to keep the feet up, and if cramps occur suddenly in the calf when sleeping on your side, you can immediately bend your foot up to relieve the pain. In addition, heavy blankets can also put pressure on the feet during sleep, causing them to bear extra weight. It is recommended to replace heavy blankets with soft ones, so that the feet can naturally lift up and not be under unnecessary pressure.
3.Ways to relieve cramps
During a cramp, the muscle knots up and becomes like a hard lump, causing intense pain. Some people feel relief from the pain in a few seconds or minutes, while others may experience soreness for several hours or even 2-3 days. Below, we will share some methods to relieve cramps!
（1）Massage the legs: Usually, the area where the cramp occurs will form a hard lump. You can use both hands to gently massage the affected area, kneading and pressing to help relax the muscles and ease the tension. Alternatively, you can press the painful area and massage in a circular motion to promote blood circulation to the affected area. Once you feel better, slowly bend your toes and flex your foot back.
（2）Stretching: In addition to massage, stretching can also help relieve cramps.The main idea is to slowly stretch in the opposite direction of the cramp. For example, if you have a calf cramp, you can stretch both legs straight and pull your toes towards yourself, using your hands to grasp your toes and stretch. If you can't reach your toes, you can also use a towel or other tool to assist.
（3）Walk on your heels: If you have a calf cramp, you can stand up and walk a little, keeping your feet straight. If possible, shake your legs while walking. This method can activate the muscles in your calves and help them relax.
（4）Apply heat: Cramps usually occur due to poor blood circulation. After a cramp, you can use a hot compress, hot towel, heating pad, hot water bottle, or other heated tool on the affected area. You can also take a hot bath or soak in hot water tosoothe the tense muscles, increase blood circulation, and relieve cramp discomfort.
（5）Reduce pressure: When experiencing a cramp, try to minimize pressure on your feet. If you have a blanket or duvet covering your legs,remove it to avoid pressure on your legs. This can also help alleviate some of the pain in your feet.
During a cramp, the muscle knots up and becomes like a hard lump, causing intense pain. Some people feel relief from the pain in a few seconds or minutes, while others may experience soreness for several hours or even 2-3 days. Below, we will share some methods to relieve cramps!
（1）Massage the legs: Usually, the area where the cramp occurs will form a hard lump. You can use both hands to gently massage the affected area, kneading and pressing to help relax the muscles and ease the tension. Alternatively, you can press the painful area and massage in a circular motion to promote blood circulation to the affected area. Once you feel better, slowly bend your toes and flex your foot back.
（2）Stretching: In addition to massage, stretching can also help relieve cramps.The main idea is to slowly stretch in the opposite direction of the cramp. For example, if you have a calf cramp, you can stretch both legs straight and pull your toes towards yourself, using your hands to grasp your toes and stretch. If you can't reach your toes, you can also use a towel or other tool to assist.
（3）Walk on your heels: If you have a calf cramp, you can stand up and walk a little, keeping your feet straight. If possible, shake your legs while walking. This method can activate the muscles in your calves and help them relax.
（4）Apply heat: Cramps usually occur due to poor blood circulation. After a cramp, you can use a hot compress, hot towel, heating pad, hot water bottle, or other heated tool on the affected area. You can also take a hot bath or soak in hot water tosoothe the tense muscles, increase blood circulation, and relieve cramp discomfort.
（5）Reduce pressure: When experiencing a cramp, try to minimize pressure on your feet. If you have a blanket or duvet covering your legs,remove it to avoid pressure on your legs. This can also help alleviate some of the pain in your feet.
2023-03-16