Restless leg syndrome can keep you up at night, causing burning or throbbing sensations in the legs that make it difficult to stay still when laying down. The uncomfortable condition impacts one in 10 Americans and women are twice as likely to be affected as men.
But experts say that the neurological disorder is often the sign of something that can lead to serious complications.
Iron deficiency, also known as anemia, can impair our ability to produce the happy hormone dopamine, which regulates leg movement. Deficiency can lead to shortness of breath, brain fog, a racing heart rate and heart failure.
Adding more iron to your daily diet can help you reduce the risk of these complications – and get better sleep at night, Dr. Brian Chen, a sleep specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, said Thursday.
The essential mineral is often found in beef, chicken, eggs and shellfish. Oysters are especially iron-rich and just three oysters contains seven milligrams, according to federal dietary guidelines. If you’re vegetarian, dark leafy greens are also a great source of iron. A cup of cooked spinach has around the same amount.
That’s a good chunk of the recommended daily amount for both men and women – though recommendations vary widely by age and gender.
Adult men need just eight milligrams a day, but women need 18 milligrams until menopause, the National Institutes of Health says. Then, they can consume the same amount as men.
That’s because research estimates that up to one-third of women of reproductive age in the U.S. are deficient due to menstrual blood loss, Yale Medicine says.
Taking a dietary iron supplement can help, too, Chen said.
Although, people should be aware that there are no dietary supplements regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Helping to fight restless leg syndrome isn’t the only benefit of the mineral, either. Getting enough iron is also important to safeguard immune health and helps you produce energy.
Iron works to form a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
But if you’re really struggling with restless leg syndrome and getting more iron isn’t enough, there are other options to treat the problem, Chen says.
Although, there is no cure.
“There are also less common medications that are a little bit more cutting edge for restless legs that are really hard to treat, including some light opiates in a controlled state. There are even devices that are used to control restless legs,” he said.
