Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

I am a side sleeper. Recently, after conducting an unscientific poll of one, namely me, I've found that when I sleep on my left side I wake up with pain in my left calf. When I sleep on my right side, I wake up with pain in my right calf (both times down in the Achilles area). Sleeping on my stomach causes back pain. I might try sleeping on my back to see what happens.
Has anyone else found a correlation between sleeping position and symptoms?

I always thought that I was a side sleeper, but when I had my first sleep test done I found out that I was on my back about 50% of the time. My PLMS wasn't controlled at that time, so the tossing and turning probably had something that result.

But other than that, I haven't noticed a correlation between any morning aches or stiffness and the side that I fall asleep on, other than the occasional numb arm from sleeping on it for an extended time.

If sleeping on your stomach causes back pain, which it also does for me, have you tried placing a pillow/cushion under your tummy area. It might take a little bit of adjustment to find the best placement to help prevent the dip in your lower back.

This works somewhat for me when symptoms are troublesome early evening and are helped a bit if I lie on my stomach on the sofa, then bend my knees at right angles with feet in the air. Shuffling down the sofa so that knees are against the arm of the sofa helps to support the lower legs in the upright position.

In bed trying to sleep, I'm more on the right side but with left side leaning forward slightly. Right leg straight and left leg with the knee up and onto the mattress.

I find sleeping on my back optimal for rls symptom reduction. If I lie on my sides it can induce an attack. Lying on my front is occasionally helpful during an attack but I rarely choose to sleep that way. Unfortunately sleeping on my back exacerbates my snoring and, according to my sleep study, my central sleep apnea ...

legsbestill wrote:I find sleeping on my back optimal for rls symptom reduction. If I lie on my sides it can induce an attack. Lying on my front is occasionally helpful during an attack but I rarely choose to sleep that way. Unfortunately sleeping on my back exacerbates my snoring and, according to my sleep study, my central sleep apnea ...

Are you diagnosed for obstructive sleep apnea also? Figured maybe so since you say sleeping on your back exacerbates your snoring. Back sleeping is known to often exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea. If you are on a machine, can you have the settings tweaked to accomodate your back sleeping? I had to avoid back sleeping until I increased my CPAP pressure a bit and until I mastered the technique of sealing my tongue against the roof of my mouth with suction. Even when relaxed, the seal can hold a long time. My numbers don't go up now when I sleep on my back. It's the tongue collapsing backward into the throat that causes most of the problems. I'd hate for you to give up back sleeping if that helps your RLS.

Yankiwi wrote:Has anyone else found a correlation between sleeping position and symptoms?

I’m a side sleeper too. I’ve found that sleeping on my back brings on RLS symptoms. I suspect it’s from pressure on my lower back because I can get the same symptoms sitting in the evening but they stop if I sit sideways with no pressure on my lower back. My general aches/pains have improved a lot after getting body pillows for both sides. I’m able to prop a leg on the pillow and it’s so comfortable. But I’ve had different body pillows throughout the years and my recent ones are the best because they are flatter rather than rounded. I think this positions the entire leg at a more natural angle instead of too high.

Flatter body pillows I use:
https://www.lifekind.com/catalogsearch/ ... ody+pillow

if you search on this topic, people have talked about this off and on for 15 years! Clearly some of us find this makes things worse (or better).