A sudden, strong, painful contraction or tightening of muscles that lasts from a few seconds to several minutes is called as a muscle cramp. Muscle cramps usually occur in legs. A muscle cramp sometimes is also called as charley horse.

Night time leg cramps are nothing but sudden spasms or tightening of muscles in the calf, thighs or foot. They usually occur just as the person is about to fall asleep or waking up.

Causes
Night time muscle cramps can be a result of several conditions or activities that may include

• Over exercising or overusing a muscle, which may also cause injury.
• Cramps may also occur due to decreased amounts of minerals in the body such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and those minerals that help reduce fatigue in muscles due to exercising.
• Exposing legs to cold temperatures during the night (taking a cold-water bath for instance) can also lead to night time leg cramps.
• Putting legs in an awkward position while sleeping or standing on a hard surface for longer durations, sitting for a longer time can also result in nigh time leg cramps.
• One of the other reasons for night time leg cramps is being dehydrated. Not drinking sufficient water reduces the water content in the muscles, which often leads cramps.
• Pregnancy can also result in night time leg cramps. Since most of the minerals that the mother consumes gets delivered to the developing baby inside her womb, its deficiency can cause cramps.
• Consuming certain medicines such as anti-psychotics, birth control pills, and steroids can also result in night time leg cramps.

Stopping night time leg cramps as they happen

Different measures work for different people. You might have to try different ways to stop a night time leg cramp and figure out the best method that works for your body. Here are some of the things that you may try:

• Some people get relief by simply stretching and massaging the muscle. Walk around for a while or jiggle your leg.
• Stretch the calf muscle. While sitting, straighten your legs and flex your foot towards your knee. Place a rolled towel under the ball of the foot and gently pull the towel towards yourself holding both the ends. Keep your knee straight while you do this. While standing, stand 2 feet away from the wall. Lean towards it keeping your legs straight. Do this, while bending the knee of the other leg. This will help in stretching the leg muscles more efficiently.
• Taking a warm shower bath will also help in relaxing the muscle. Placing a hot water bag or a heating pad on the muscle might also help.
• There are several over-the-counter pain relieving medicines that can help getting relief from (nigh time) leg cramps. Be safe with the usage of medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label before consuming them.
• Doctors might prescribe you some pain relieving medicines. It is advised that you consume them exactly as prescribed.
• Drinking plenty of fluids and sport drinks often helps getting relief from leg cramps.

Here are some tips to prevent muscle cramps:

• The very first thing is to drink plenty of water and other fluids so that you remain hydrated at all times.
• Avoid or reduce the intake of alcohol. Drinking alcohol reduces water content in the muscle making it vulnerable to get cramped.
• Make sure you are consuming healthy foods. Eating foods rich in calcium potassium and magnesium will help in reducing the fatigue in the muscles. Pregnant women especially need to take care and consume healthy quantity of foods that contain these minerals, as some of these minerals will be passed to the baby in the womb.
• Ride a stationary bike before you go to sleep. Keep in mind to not over-exercise, as this can also lead to night time leg cramps. Exercise only to condition and stretch your leg muscles. Stretch your muscles before and after exercising and bedtime.
• If you are hitting the gym, do not suddenly start with the exercise regime. While doing leg exercises such as squats, lunges, leg raise, and calf raise, make sure you follow proper form. Exercising with wrong posture can result in internal injury including cramps. If you are under weight training, make sure you are getting proper nutrition. Increase the intensity of the exercise a little each week.
• Taking multivitamin supplements daily will also help in getting night time leg cramps. Consult your doctor before taking these multivitamin supplements.
• If you are on a medication that is known to cause leg cramps, ask your doctor to prescribe different medicines.

After taking all the precautions, if you still experience leg muscle cramps during night time or otherwise and they are getting severe, consult a doctor. These may be symptoms of some another problem. If you keep experiencing nigh time leg cramps that keep interfering with your sleep, then your doctor might prescribe medicines that relaxes your leg muscles.