Nocturnal leg cramps

Twice in the recent past, I've woken up from my sleep with these incredibly painful leg cramps in my calves. The first incident was pretty bad, bad enough to make me groan aloud in pain. The second incident didn't last as long, thankfully. Both times, I think it's just affected my left calf, but I'm half asleep at the time so I'm not too sure.

I wondered if it was caused by me not stretching enough (I usually don't stretch after my weekday runs, but I try to on the weekend).

With good ol' Google to the rescue, I tried to pinpoint the cause. Basically, no-one knows what causes them, but there are certain factors.

I ruled out mineral deficiencies because I eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegies, and I take a multivitamin and mineral supplement. I'm definitely not pregnant (you can trust me on this one). It could be over-exertion (but I do take a rest day from exercise once a week). I think it is more likely dehydration, because I often wake up thirsty (to the point my lips are cracked).

So to prevent nocturnal leg cramps, I will:

• continue to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegies (I'm eating all the stuff websites recommend anyway, such as bananas, oranges, tomatoes etc)

• drink lots of water before bed (downside: will have to get up in the middle of the night to attend to the call of nature)

• Stretch my calves before I sleep.
  

One website did suggest that those who are more muscular seem to have more leg cramps. Woot! I'll take that to mean I'm more muscular now than when I didn't have nocturnal leg cramps!

On a more serious note, I hope it's not a sign of something dire.