Her legs jump about after she falls asleep . The movements can result in several arousals or awakenings during the night, thus causing a complaint of insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness.
Patients are usually unaware of the movements because they occur before the awakenings.
Due to the fragmentation of sleep, patients often awaken in the morning feeling tired and unrefreshed. Leg movements consist of extension of the big toe in combination with partial flexion of the ankle, knee and sometimes hip. Arm movements usually consist of the flexion of the forearm in combination with the wrist. PLMs increase with age. Repetitive contractions each lasting 0.5-5 sec.