This last weekend I rode 75 miles on my bicycle over Mt. Hood and out to Hood River, Oregon to raise money for the American Diabetes Association.  It was one of the most physically challenging thing I've ever done and an effort that I definitely consider "extreme exercise".

After the ride my legs were very tired and worn out, but the creepy, crawly sensations hit with a strong vengeance.  They even went up into my arms and hands and turned into explosive jerks that left me shaking my limbs every few seconds as if I was having a seizure.

Despite my regular dosages of Requip that day, the vigorous exercise from the ride aggravated my restless legs symptoms.

This might seem contrary to what many people think would be the case, but it just goes to prove that RLS is not primarily a muscular condition.  It's primarily a neurological disorder, although exercise clearly has some affect (negatively in my case).

Some recent studies have shown a correlation between moderate exercise and a decrease in RLS symptoms, but generally people have reported that strenuous exercise worsens their RLS. That certainly fits my experience this weekend and many other times as well.

We gained an extra hour recently with Daylight Savings here in the U.S. which can be a life changing event for many of us suffering from RLS.  Our bodies don't automatically jump ahead or behind an hour like the clock does, and it can take a few weeks to adjust to the time change.

For me it means I take my Requip pills an hour earlier than normal in the fall, and an hour later in the spring.  I usually take my first dose at around noon, which meant I had to switch to 11 a.m. last fall when we fell back an hour for Daylight Savings, and then another every four hours until my 10 p.m. dose before bed. 

My last evening dose is a whopping 3 mg of Requip, which leaves me feeling very drowsy within an hour. I didn't start going to bed an hour earlier however, so that left me struggling to stay awake on dinner dates with my wife or friends.

I always look forward to the "spring forward" Daylight Savings change because the situation is reversed.  I can take my meds an hour later than normal and still be in sync with my body's time schedule.  I can stay up an hour later without feeling drowsy too, which came in handy this last weekend when my wife and I had dinner with a couple friends and stayed out until about 10:30 p.m.

How pronounced is your reaction to the recent time change?

In an alarming article published by Medscape.com titled "Restless Legs Syndrome Highlights From the Associated Professional Sleep Societies 19th Annual Meeting", I discovered that 35% of MS (multiple sclerosis) patients also had RLS.

From the article: "In all, 29 of 82 (MS) patients were found to be affected by RLS (prevalence rate, 35.4%)." And even more alarming for me was that "In 7 patients (8.5%), RLS preceded the onset of clinical MS; for 22 patients (24.4%), onset of RLS followed or was simultaneous with the clinical MS onset."

There's clearly a relationship between the two disorders, although not necessarily a causal relationship.

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves). It affects the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain.

Here are four commonly described symptoms of RLS:

1. You have a strong urge to move your legs which you may not be able to resist. The need to move is accompanied by uncomfortable tickling, creeping, itching, burning, creepy-crawly, tugging or gnawing sensations. These sensations will build up in your legs until you feel you have to move them. They may also climb up into your arms in severe cases.

2. Your RLS symptoms start or become worse when you are resting. The longer you are resting, the greater the chance the symptoms will occur and the more severe they are likely to be. This includes sitting in a chair - a very common situation as jobs become more and more computer oriented.

3. Your RLS symptoms are temporarily relieved when you move your legs, although relief persists only as long as your legs continue to move. In more severe cases, you may only experience relief for a few seconds of leg movement and will likely need some form of medication or treatment for continued relief. You may also not be able to continually move your legs (e.g. sitting in a meeting or being stuck on a long plane trip).

4. Your RLS symptoms worsen in the evening especially when you are lying down or resting. Restful activities that bother you at night might not bother you during the day, but you may not be able to get to sleep without some form of medication or treatment.