Reviewed by Dr Nurul Aishah Jamaludin, Physician Yoong Zi Yi and Physician Kong Teck Chuan

What Causes Leg Cramps at Night? 7 Remedies to Help

Published March 11, 2023| 5 min read

Are you often waking up with leg cramps at night? Learn more about the possible causes.

Woman grimacing in pain as she massages her left calf with her right hand while sitting up in bed.

If you’ve woken up clutching your leg due to leg cramps at night, you’d know it disturbs your sleep because it can be painful.

Leg cramps happen because of a sudden contraction of your feet or leg muscles. You may feel it at irregular intervals, and it can lead to secondary insomnia. This is when you have trouble sleeping due to a medical condition or it is disrupting daily activities.

Here’s what causes leg cramps at night and what you can do to reduce it.

What Causes Leg Cramps at Night?

Several factors have been associated with an increased risk of the problem, including:

Pregnancy
Being over 50 years of age
Overexertion due to exercise
Excessive alcohol intake

Chronic dehydration
Prolonged sitting with crossed legs
Sleeping under tight bed covers that cause your toes to point downward
Medication use: Diuretics, anti-inflammatories, and statins
Structural disorders: Flat feet or other ankle or feet malformations

Diseases: Diabetes, osteoarthritis, liver cirrhosis, Parkinson’s disease, vascular diseases, hypo- and hyperthyroidism

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) also relates high-intensity physical activities and incorrect sleeping positions to the condition’s onset.

“Cold weather and a weak physique too, can cause leg cramps at night. Being weak can impair blood circulation and lead to a loss of muscle strength, inducing cramps.”

Eu Yan Sang TCM Physician Yoong Zi Yi

A healthcare provider will rule out any underlying conditions before prescribing you treatment options. Some conditions that can cause leg cramps at night are:

Kidney failure: Cramps that are accompanied by metabolic signs or symptoms
Intermittent claudication: A deep, aching pain that feels like cramping, usually happens during exercise

Peripheral neuropathy: Numbness, pain, and a tingling sensation in the affected area that’s accompanied by secondary cramps
Restless leg syndrome or periodic limb movement disorder: Non-painful but repetitive leg movements that disrupt your sleep
Myositis, myalgias, Baker’s cysts, and deep vein thrombosis: Deep, aching pain accompanied by physical weakness

Steps to Stop Leg Cramps at Night

You can take several steps to relieve leg cramps, which include stretches, massage, and compression.

Stretching

Man looking down as he performs stretches against a red brick wall. — Stretching your calf muscles daily can help prevent leg cramps at night.

Feel a tug in your calf muscles while sleeping? Sit up or stand immediately, straighten your leg, and lift your foot with your toes pointed towards your shin.

If you have the flexibility, reach for your toes and pull them towards you.

How to stretch to prevent your calves from cramping

Stand approximately three feet from a wall and lean forward. Reach out to touch the wall with outstretched arms, keeping your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Count to five, stop, and repeat the movement for five minutes. Do this a maximum of three times daily.

Massage your legs

Use your hands or a foam roller to massage your legs and soothe any discomfort. Elevate your feet as soon as the symptoms subside.

Stand and walk

Stand up, pressing your feet against the floor. Walk around the space while wiggling your feet and toes.

Hot or cold compression

Unsure of whether to use a hot or cold compress for your leg cramps? Do both! Ideally, you can use ice wrapped in a towel to ease the pain while waiting for the cramp to subside.

Replace the ice with a heating pad or take a warm bath. Doing this will help increase blood flow to your legs.

Herbal foot bath

According to Physician Yoong, a herbal foot bath can reduce leg cramps at night by promoting better blood circulation, strengthening the tendons, and expelling Wind. A few of the medicinal ingredients that you can include in the bath are:

Dried papaya (mu gua gan, 木瓜干)
Peach seeds (tao ren, 桃仁)
Rehmannia root (shu di huang, 熟地黄)
Common club moss (shen jin cao, 伸筋草)
Mulberry mistletoe stem (sang ji sheng, 桑寄生)

White peony root (bai shao, 白芍)

Acupressure massages

yin men — Along the midline behind the thigh, at the midpoint of the gluteal fold and the transverse crease behind the knee.

wei yang — At the back of the knee, on the popliteal crease and towards its lateral end, in the depression medial to the tendon of biceps femoris.

wei zhong — At the back of the knee, on the popliteal crease, in a depression midway between the tendons of the biceps femoris muscle and semitendinosus muscle .

cheng shan — Cheng shan is on the posterior midline of the lower leg, the depression below of gastrocnemius muscle when extending the toes straight or lifting the heel.

As an alternative to herbal medication, acupressure massages encourage better circulation, loosen the tendons, alleviate cramps, and calm pain. Some of the acupoints that can be activated are:

Yin men (BL37, 殷门)

Wei yang (BL39, 委阳)
Wei zhong (BL40, 委中)
Cheng jin (BL56, 承筋)
Cheng shan (BL57, 承山)

Prescription medication and health supplements

A clinical healthcare provider will prescribe different medications for nocturnal leg cramps such as carisoprodol, diltiazem, and verapamil.

If you’re pregnant, magnesium can potentially suppress leg cramps. Multi-vitamin and sodium supplements can also be beneficial. However, use sodium supplements with caution as you could be at risk of blood pressure spikes.

Untreated leg cramps at night may disrupt your sleep, making you feel tired, be less productive and increase your risk of illness. Try combining the tips above with capsules that contain Cordyceps extract, but do speak to a licensed practitioner before taking any herbs.

If you’ve found this article has helped with your leg cramps, be sure to share it with your loved ones.