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Comment by vgoh1 | Hacker News Reader

When I was a child, I would suffer from terrible muscle contractions in my calves. I would get a charlie horse in the middle of the night, and it would not go away completely for over a day. I couldn't put my foot flat to walk properly, and it was very painful. After about a dozen of these attacks, I noticed a pattern - they would occur on the night before something that I was dreading - a test I wasn't prepared for, a school dance, etc. Once I realized this, it never came back again. On the outside, it appeared that I was faking the muscle issues, but actually, my mind was causing charlie horses deliberately. It was very odd, but will always stick with me that the connections between body and mind are not well understood.

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I've had something similar, where I would get a massive cramp in the night while I was dreaming. It was definitely, IMO, caused by something going on in my mind. I had to learn to wake up immediately when this happened and exercise conscious control of the muscles to stop the cramping to prevent any further damage, as it could really cause me to have seriously sore leg muscles for a day or two afterwards.

I haven't had this happen for at least a year or so now, and it's quite likely this is linked to various major changes that have happened in my life since then.

But yes, I totally agree with you about your conclusion.

Wow, that's like the exact opposite to my nighty calf cramps.

I tend to get them when I'm way too relaxed as that makes me "stretch out" during sleep, which I kinda notice in half-sleep as feeling great, until I seemingly "overstretch" and get fully woken up to a painful calf cramp.

Tho that whole problem kinda fixed itself once I started taking Magnesium supplements before going to bed, to help with teeth gnashing/neck pains.

Anecdata +1 but taking magnesium every now and then has done wonders for my leg cramp issues.

Did you take the magnesium also just before bed or morning?

I don't take it on a schedule.

I only take it when I feel a twinge in my calf. I figure I'm probably deficient in magnesium or something. Even if it is a placebo, it seems to work.

I have the same issue as above. Right before bed is typically suggested for bruxism, etc. Magnesium has also been shown in a study to improve sleep quality, though I don't remember the exact mechanism.

I might have an absorption issue though. Magnesium salt topical spray (less costly than pills) helps intantly unclench my neck/shoulders, and theres extant literature on that being an effective method of administration.

Magnesium is an interesting one, because all sorts of muscle things (cramps, restless leg syndrome etc.) can be caused by, or helped by, both high and low levels of magnesium. It seems to be something that needs to stay within a certain band for muscle control to work properly.

> Once I realized this, it never came back again.

This was the same for me with RSI. It was simply the act of realizing it was psychosomatic and caused by stress that made it disappear completely.

Mind-body CAN be the causative factor. But sometimes correlation only.

A friend's wife died, and he got sick afterwards. Grief? Illness went away when he stopped eating badly (his wife had prepared most meals for him).

Of course, he had switched to a pretty bad diet, and he was older, more likely to be affected by diet.

Cramps, for example, can be often be prevented with potassium, which is in plants. Some people don't eat plants as much when they are stressed, leading to cramps.

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