OK, I'm going to comment on this. I've read the actual articles. These studies are not "proof" of RLS, but they are genetic proof of periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) during sleep. They appear to be using the terms interchangeably in the article, but they are not. For me, RLS is just PLMD happening before I go to sleep.

Also, why does it seem like the drug manufacturers are over-marketing this? I'll tell you. One of the researchers found a 25% false-positive rate. That means that 25% of the subjects reported having symptoms of RLS/PLMD, but they actually did not. RLS/PLMD is absolutely NOT the "ants-in-the-pants" feeling that most people think it is.

I have had RLS/PLMD for 10 years. Let me describe what it feels like when it's at its worst. Growing up, we had an ancient iron with an electrical short. You had to make sure not to touch the faceplate when it was plugged in, or you'd get an unpleasant shock. It pretty much feels like that, both legs. It mostly occurs in the evening and at night. For me, it's punctuated with occasional "needle-poke" feelings.

/end soapbox

I started having symptoms of this during my third pregnancy. Some nights I couldn't sleep at all because of the weird feelings in my legs, and the almost constant jerking my legs did at night, no matter how much I tried to stop them.

I had never heard of RLS before it happened to me.

Thankfully the episodes are more intermittent now, and really only occur if I've had too much to drink, if I'm overly tired, or when I'm sick.