What Causes Nighttime Foot Cramps?

If you get foot cramps at night, broken sleep and the resulting exhaustion can take a serious toll on your daily life. You need relief. What’s the underlying reason for nighttime foot cramps, and how can you restore your beauty rest? Here’s what to know and do.

Multiple underlying issues contribute to foot cramps at night, so pinpointing your precise cause requires mindfulness. Contributing factors may include: 

• Lack of activity from sitting too long, especially if you sit in positions that cause circulation and nerve issues.
• Overactivity that stresses your feet, such as walking on hard warehouse floors.
• Improper footwear makes walking on hard surfaces more burdensome.
• Excessive alcohol use and dehydration — while dehydration alone can result in nighttime foot cramps, adding alcohol into the mix can result in a condition known as alcoholic neuropathy, which increases cramping.
• Nutrient deficiencies, including various B vitamins, magnesium or potassium.
• Pregnancy — researchers remain unsure why pregnancy increases foot cramping, but the extra weight on your feet may contribute.
• Health issues and medications — for example, structural and metabolic issues, like spinal stenosis or diabetes, contribute. So does nerve damage and various diseases. Additionally, blood pressure medications, statins, diuretics and birth control pills may increase cramping.

Are Nighttime Foot Cramps Dangerous?

Fortunately, nighttime foot cramps are usually more of an annoyance than a serious health risk. However, a lack of sleep makes you more accident-prone and can affect your mood and mindset, so finding relief matters.

Can Foot Cramps at Night Indicate a More Serious, Underlying Condition?

Yes. As foot cramps can stem from or worsen with various conditions like diabetes, talking to your doctor is crucial. Go to your appointment prepared to answer questions about your lifestyle habits, when the cramping began and how severely it impacts your daily life.

When To See Your Doctor For Nighttime Foot Cramps 

If you have never experienced foot cramps at night and they come on suddenly, you should contact your doctor to evaluate possible underlying causes. Likewise, you should make the call if your symptoms increase in severity or begin interfering with your ability to function.

Take time to examine your feet. Sometimes, foot cramps at night may occur from a readily treatable related condition such as nail fungus. Your doctor may perform a simple procedure with a drill and bur to alleviate the issue, setting you free to get your Zzzs.

7 Holistic Ways To Treat Foot Cramps At Night 

Fortunately, holistic remedies are often enough to tackle foot cramps at night. Here are seven tricks to try to improve your rest:

1. Drink More Water

Failing to consume adequate H20 creates various unwanted health consequences. Becoming merely 1.6% dehydrated can increase anxiety and fatigue. It may also make you more prone to foot cramps at night.

Carry a reusable bottle and use your phone’s alarm or an app to remind you to sip periodically. Keep a glass of water by your bed — some folks swear by drinking lemon water at night for the boost of vitamin C.

2. Reduce Alcohol Use

Alcohol dehydrates you and can cause nerve damage, resulting in cramps. Recent studies suggest that no amount is truly safe, so cut back or quit, following the guidelines of no more than one to two such beverages daily.

3. Stretch Before Bed

Stretching your feet before bed may help prevent cramps by encouraging blood flow to the region. Fortunately, these moves are easy to perform.

Stretch your Achilles tendon, which lines the back of your heel, by pulling your feet upward toward your shin. You can also stand on a stair, hold onto the rail for support and dip your heel slightly below the level of the bottom riser.

Stretch your toes by spreading them wide and placing your fingers in between them. A legs-up-the-wall yoga pose feels fabulous after working on your feet all day. Simply extend your feet toward the ceiling, supporting them on a wall or your bed’s headboard if desired, and rotate, point and flex your feet. Doing this move also prevents varicose veins by encouraging blood flow back toward your heart.

4. Invest in New Shoes

Going to the store for a measurement is the best way to purchase shoes. They should fit comfortably with no rubbing or pinching. Look for soft, supportive soles that absorb some of the impact of standing on hard surfaces. Doing so is especially critical if you work in a warehouse or another facility with concrete flooring, and adding compression socks to the ensemble discourages blood pooling.

5. Get the Right Amount of Activity

You don’t have to sign up for a marathon or even join a gym. Most experts agree that a little over 20 minutes of daily movement is enough for positive health benefits, including fewer foot cramps at night. You could go for a walk, play a game of basketball with the kids or tune into a free workout on YouTube.

6. Improve Your Diet

Improving your diet addresses underlying nutritional deficiencies that can worsen foot cramps at night. Focus on foods rich in B vitamins, such as deep, leafy greens, whole (not processed) grains, nuts, legumes and lean meats. Seek foods high in magnesium and potassium, like bananas. Many leafy greens and other plant-based foods like whole grains and nuts also offer generous helpings of these nutrients.

7. Consider a Supplement, Especially if Pregnant

All moms-to-be benefit from a prenatal vitamin for the folic acid alone. Talk to your doctor about finding the right one to help ease your nighttime foot cramps.

Preventing And Treating Foot Cramps At Night 

A bad case of foot cramps at night leaves you tired and miserable the next day. Finding the answer may require medical intervention, but you can often address the issue through holistic cures. Control what you can and talk to your provider if necessary to get the relief you deserve.