What to do About Night Foot Cramps

It’s 2:30 AM and you don’t even know it because you’re sleeping so soundly. But then, you wake up and feel pain and spasming in your foot.

You angrily get up and walk around, annoying everyone else in the family because they know you’re up at an ungodly hour once again.

Foot cramps have struck!

And you’re not alone because up to 60% of adults get them, according to a 2012 study.

Why do you get them? And what can you do to keep them from coming back again?

Why Foot Cramps Happen

Foot cramps don’t come about for just a single, simple reason. They actually have many causes.

Here’s some:

• Sitting for long periods of time, or sitting with poor posture that restricts blood flow to your feet
• Engaging in too much activity that puts excessive stress on your feet
• Wearing poorly fitted shoes
• Working on hard surfaces like concrete for long hours
• Dehydration
• Deficiency of vitamin B-12, B vitamins in general, thiamin, folate, magnesium, and potassium
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Simply being in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy
• Certain medications like blood pressure medications and statins
• Medical conditions like spinal stenosis and peripheral arterial disease

And that’s not even the complete list! So, though bothersome, your night foot cramps aren’t a simple issue.

What’s the Treatment for Night Foot Cramps?

The medical field doesn’t have a specific treatment. Instead, the approach involves analyzing your lifestyle, making changes, and seeing what works.

Common solutions include:

• A regular, balanced exercise regimen that doesn’t overdo it or underdo it
• Just doing a few minutes on an exercise bike or treadmill before bed
• Daily stretching, and especially so before and after exercise
• Wearing supportive, comfortable shoes
• Drinking 15.5 cups of water per day if you’re a man and 11.5 cups of water per day if you’re a woman
• Eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes calcium, potassium, and magnesium
• Limiting alcohol
• Keeping your legs elevated during the day if you’re pregnant
• Stretching your foot out when you do have a cramp
• Talking to your doctor about the medications you’re currently on
• Possibly adding natural supplements so you get the right vitamins and minerals that stop cramping
• Physical therapy if nerve damage is the cause

This isn’t a complete list of solutions, although these are the most common.

Basically, the bottom line is that you’ll have to talk with your doctor and be willing to possibly make some lifestyle changes to put an end to painful nightly foot cramps.

Fortunately, you at least have plenty of solutions available and can count on putting an end to painful foot cramps and getting restful sleep once again.