Myoclonus refers to a sudden and involuntary jerk of a particular muscle or a specific group of muscles.1 The problem causes jerks or twitches usually because of sudden muscular contractions referred to as positive myoclonus or because of muscular relaxations known as negative myoclonus.
Best Coping Strategies To Deal With Myoclonus
One can easily cope up with the problem of myoclonus by following a few of the essential coping strategies related to common home remedies or making some changes in lifestyle.
Reduce The Intake Of Stimulants. You should avoid or reduce the intake of alcohol, caffeinated beverages, nicotine items and other related energy stimulants at least for one week. In most of the cases, you will see improvement in your health.
Reduce Intense Workout At Evening. You should avoid or reduce involving in any tedious work or intensive workout during the evening time. Instead, you should do physical exercise either in the morning or in the afternoon. Reason for this is that when you involve in intensive exercise in the evening, your body emits lactic acid in excessive amounts, which leads to hypnic jerks. Hence, it is essential for you to find ways related to reducing the amount of lactic acid production in your body.
Go with A Balanced Diet. Next, you should assess your diet properly and hence, make a habit of having only healthy foods. Accordingly, your balanced diet should consist of fresh vegetables and fruits instead of salty and sugary foods. Other than this, you should make sure to stay hydrated for the whole day, especially before going to bed.
Give Enough Time To Sleep. Indeed, you may have a busy and hectic lifestyle because of your job profile. However, it is essential for you to give enough time to sleep.
Mattress, Bedding And Sleeping Position. You should make sure to sleep comfortably and always use comfortable bedding and mattresses. Even you should make sure of a quiet sleeping environment, as sudden noise in the background may force you to stay awake.
Take Steps To Deal With Stress And Anxiety. You should essentially try dealing with major stress going on in your life. In the case you suffer due to anxiety, you have to tackle them in the right way. One of the best ways to deal with both stress and anxiety is to perform relaxation exercises in your bed. For instance, you should intake 4 times and exhale 4 times, which is a simple but effective breathing exercise.
Have Light Snacks Before Going To Bed. Another effective way to cope up with the problem of myoclonus is to have light snacks before you should go to bed. This is especially helpful if you get jerks or myoclonus attacks repeatedly.
Have Calcium And Magnesium Supplements. Magnesium supplements in some cases have proved to be beneficial in dealing with the problem of myoclonus attacks or certain jerks. For this, you have to rub magnesium oil or magnesium in the trans-dermal form in the area, where you experience twitch commonly. If possible, you should undergo a blood test to check whether you have a magnesium deficiency. On the other side, you should make sure of getting calcium in an adequate amount in your daily diet or should intake a few calcium supplements.
Check The Medicines With Doctor. You should essentially discuss with your doctor before taking any medicine, as there are certain medicines, which result in the side effect in the form of myoclonus. Particularly, you should avoid the intake of any sleeping pill or allergic medicine, which comes with anti-histamines, as it results in twitches.
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