In a nationwide survey of 528 people with restless legs syndrome, more reported good than bad experiences of exercise (72% against 40%), 54% said exercise only eases their symptoms and 24% that it only worsens them, more than half found morning exercise helpful and evening exercise harmful, and respondents described abrupt changes of routine, stopping exercise included, as a trigger

Cederberg, Sikes and Mignot asked how people with restless legs syndrome perceive the effect of exercise on their symptoms. The authors describe RLS as a common sensorimotor sleep disorder that movement relieves for a while, and note earlier evidence that regular exercise improves symptoms.

In a nationwide mixed-methods survey, 528 people answered numerical and narrative items on their good and bad experiences of exercise, their RLS diagnosis and severity, and demographic and clinical details. Experiences varied widely.

More respondents reported positive than negative experiences with exercise (72% against 40%); 54% said exercise only improves their RLS, while 24% said it only makes it worse.

In their own words, respondents said that any abrupt change of exercise routine, such as a long hike or stopping a routine, almost always brought symptoms on, and that a steady pattern of exercise made symptomatic bouts less frequent. More than half said morning exercise improves their symptoms and evening exercise worsens them.

Respondents also listed questions they wanted answered about the evidence and about how exercise should be prescribed. The authors offer the results as input for health-promotion programmes shaped by people with RLS.

n = 528 completed the survey. Diagnosis, severity, demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, but their values (age, sex, severity, how RLS was diagnosed, exercise habits) are not in the abstract; recruitment and response rate are not in the abstract. No athletes are described.