That's one reason the condition is so often shrugged off by doctors. One cannot describe the sensation in conventional terms.
Scientists call all such sensations paresthesia.
To relieve these symptoms RLS sufferers feel they must walk, no matter how tired they are. Like the inhabitants of a nocturnal hell, they are doomed to move while the rest of the world sleeps. The most seriously afflicted may have to walk all night, so when they say they haven't slept, they mean it - literally. RLS affects nearly 5 percent of the population, according to the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, and the majority of those are middle-aged or older. Most of its victims have only mild cases, but more than a million suffer from a severe form.