Symptoms include an urge to move the legs often associated with uncomfortable feeling in the legs (e.g. tingling, creepy, itching, pulling or aching) during periods of inactivity, including both sleep and wakefulness. Symptoms may also include involuntary jerking of the limbs that intensifies in the evening or at night and is relieved by movement. People with RLS tend to have difficulty falling or staying asleep and suffer from chronic sleep loss, leaving them with the cognitive and tired feelings that occur with sleep loss.
Reviewed by Richard P. Allen, Ph.D.and Merrill M. Mitler, Ph.D., May 2005.
