I have grown up with constant leg cramps at night. They are like a thermometer in that they rise and fall throughout the year. What makes them especially frustrating is there is no rhyme or reason to them. Over my 66-years I just live with them.
This past July I was with a great group of guys doing some night training in the wilds of central Pennsylvania. As usual, I had to jump out of my camping hammock to walk off a leg cramp.
Around the breakfast campfire, I causally brought up my leg cramp issue when someone asked how I slept in my hammock. He nodded and walked off to his tent. Later he came back and asked me to put a white powder in my morning coffee. I asked him what the powder was and he said, "baking soda". I did and the next day/night I only had to jump out of my hammock to walk off my leg cramps once.
As things happen, I forgot about this little trick till about two weeks ago. My night leg cramps were progressively getting worse with 3-4 attacks a night. Then I remembered my experience with baking soda back in July.
My drink of choice is unsweetened ice tea or plain water with a good splash of lemonade in the glass. I started adding about 1/2 tsp. of baking soda in my drink throughout the day and voila', my nightly walks around the cabin with W3OOF trailing behind me several times a night, has stopped.
The taste is fine, not unpleasant at all in my daily drinking glass. I would NEVER add it to a good cup of Sumatra coffee or a nice glass of wine however, totally fine for my daily O'Biden sippy cup.
If you too struggle with nightly leg cramps, give it a try.
