Restless Leg Syndrome or too much caffeine?
Aug 27Last night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I find it impossible to stop moving my legs. 12:30am comes and goes… 2:00… I can’t lie still. Add to that the chatter of Futurama and Family Guy episodes on Adult Swim each of which I’ve seen at least a dozen times continually catching my attention and I’d say I’m having a restless night with restless legs, even after turning off the noise. I can’t seem to turn off – so of course I remember the commercial I’d just seen on TV about Mirapex… for the treatment of restless legs syndrome. I also start to think: WHAT A BOGUS DISEASE! –My apologies to those afflicted, it is only fair to say that perhaps some are more genetically predisposed to this sort of sensitivity than others, much like some of us are sensitive to milk or certain environmental allergens.
Recalling that I’d done little to nothing but sit inside all day, that I’d gotten a late start by getting up at 3pm anyway, lunch – at 6pm – was loaded with carbs and fat (taco bell) with a giant Mountain Dew to wash it down and my last meal before bed (also high carb and fat – McDonalds) and a 16oz Dr. Pepper to go with it at 11pm.
Also at this time I start to wonder: what would something like… Ambien do for me? My symptoms match what the commercial says…
Of course I can’t lie still… my eyes are tired on account of the tv watching I’ve done and massive amounts of calories I’ve ingested with no outlet, I’m primed and ready for action with all that energy. Yet in order to somehow not stay up all night and make it to work on time, I have to conform and try to get in bed on time – and since my eyes are tired of course it feels good to lie there and close them, though my body feels otherwise.
But luckily for me, there’s a pill I can pop to rid myself of this scourge plaguing my lazy gluttonous ass. All I have to deal with is some potential nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, the first two of which I can mitigate with some pepto bismol and the latter… well considering that this drug is a depressant I guess would just be the last straw. No thank you. I think that I might be a little more restful in all circumstances had I gone jogging before bed or maybe avoided the high caffeine, high sugar, carbohydrate loaded meals and drinks. And in other cases maybe kept to a ‘normal’ sleeping schedule, even though mine seems to naturally revolve from being awake during the day to being awake and comfortable at night – lack of discipline or nature?
And people wonder why obesity and vascular disease is such a big issue… because we’re offered such unhealthy synthetic food, which is also cheaper and easier to attain than healthy organic choices. And for any complications that arise from our low activity high intake lifestyles there is a pill to quell that malady. At least commerce is healthy and thriving so long as pharmaceutical companies can come up with a clever name for something many people commonly experience as a result of things they do or don’t do on a daily basis, and give you enough reason to make you believe there’s something wrong with you rather than choices you make. It’s just marketing at its best!
Don’t get me wrong, not to discredit the merit of the syndrome in question, but is just seems a little common sense would do much more good than something you go out and buy to counteract other crap you’re putting into yourself. At least for a lot of people who don’t realize the cause and effect of things they do from minute to minute – you know like… If I eat this thing here, which one can consider a parcel of fuel/energy, and sit around doing nothing… where will this all go? Hmm… maybe it will get stored (as fat) for a time when you WILL need it. So nature intends. But isn’t junk food just so irresistible?!