Next time, before you go to bed, slip a bar of soap under your sheet. Why? Well, many people swear that it works miracles. This unproven folk remedy might be as beneficial as people claim, but the only way to find out is to try it ourselves.
This remedy is supposed to prevent nocturnal leg cramps while we sleep. These painful muscle contractions can occur anytime in the middle of the night. Many people on Twitter support these claims. They believe that soap does the trick.
However, it is important to know that no scientific evidence supports these claims. Nevertheless, people highly believe in the soap’s amazing health benefits. They say that this weird remedy can have some astonishing effects.
Not only will it prevent leg cramps, but it can also help us sleep better. Therefore, feel free to use soaps of your choice, whether it is lavender, rose, or anything else since it can help you relax.
Experts’ Opinions
Experts disagree with this popular folk remedy. They say that if you experience cramping, you should check your hydration. The reason for your leg cramps lies in the lack of hydration. Therefore, you need to drink more water during the day.
Also, you need to eat healthy food and often stretch, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Peoples’ Opinions
Many people claim that the soap remedy works. So, it can help prevent and alleviate nocturnal leg cramps. Furthermore, its effects are immediate and work for a longer period. However, there are some cases where people believe that the soap remedy is not that good.
They believe that it doesn’t have a constant effect or it doesn’t work at all. Plus, after a month passes, this folk remedy is no longer effective, so people had to replace it. Therefore, people changed their old soap with a new one.
Also, in some cases, people only scraped the surface of the old soap to get a new-looking one. Nevertheless, if you put the bar of soap under or between the sheets, people claim that it works.
What Makes Soap Special?
Soap stimulates the nerves. According to a chemist who specializes in volatile ingredients, the most popular soap for relieving leg cramps is the one that has limonene. This is a chemical that comes from the skin of limes, lemons, or other citrus fruits.
Also, many cosmetics use its chemicals to give a product the flavoring and fragrance it needs. In addition, this fragrance can somehow affect the body and treat or prevent leg cramps. So, this would mean that there are receptors in the skin for both smell and taste.
But, we are not aware of them. As a result, it could be possible that the soap creates a small sensory stimulation that travels to the spinal column and calms down the nerves that cause muscle cramps. After all, this is a much slower process than swallowing powerful flavors like vinegar or mustard.
These powerful flavors take a day or two to manifest. So, limonene might indeed prove useful. There are plenty of soaps that have a lot of limonene. So, pick the ones with a lot of this chemical to get the effects you want.
What Causes Nerve Pain?
There are many nerves in the body that transfer certain feelings to the brain, even pain. Even though we don’t like feeling pain, it is still an important function of our system. If your pain sensation works well, they can alert your brain of the dangers ahead.
This is how it is supposed to work. However, people with nerve pain do not have proper functioning nerves. Their transport system doesn’t work well. As a result, the brain receives the pain signal, but there is no cause for the pain.
Therefore, a person feels pain without a purpose. Because of the way this type of pain is, no immediate treatment can relieve it. But, what makes the nerves act this way? Here is what usually causes the nerve pain.
Physical Injury
If you have crushed, compressed, or severed a nerve, it can cause some serious nerve pain.
HIV
This type of disease can cause agonizing nerve damage. This type of pain can affect up to one-third of the people who have HIV. As a result, nerve pain in the feet and hands is the first most common symptom that appears.
Furthermore, the treatments that involve antiretroviral drugs can also damage the nerves and cause some pain.
Tumors and Cancer
When either the tumor or cancer grow, they can press on the surrounding nerves. Also, they can grow out of the nerves. As a result, sometimes treatments for cancer, like the use of chemotherapy drugs, can damage the nerves and cause pain.
Shingles
This is a very serious and painful condition, also known as postherpetic neuralgia. It can severely damage the nerves and cause sudden pain.
Diabetes
This condition can often cause nerve damage. The high level of glucose in the blood sugar can injure the nerves.
Conclusion
Many people believe that putting a bar of soap under your sheets can have some amazing properties. However, there are not enough studies to confirm this claim. But, according to some experts, you should purchase the right soap if you want to prevent cramps.
Therefore, the next time you try to put a bar of soap under your sheets, make sure to purchase a soap that contains a lot of limonene since it can have a lot of important properties.
If you want more details, watch this video below.
What do you think? Would you try placing a bar of soap under your sheets? Tell us your thoughts and opinions. If you liked this post, make sure to share it with friends and family.
