Treating Restless Legs Slashes Risk of Parkinson's Disease
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 11 December 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS) isn't just a sleep problem — it's a neurological signal that your brain's dopamine and iron systems are under stress, and addressing it early helps protect long-term brain health
- A JAMA Network Open study found that people with RLS were significantly more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those without it
- RLS patients who received treatment had four times fewer Parkinson's diagnoses than untreated individuals, suggesting that managing RLS symptoms supports neurological resilience
- Iron levels, poor sleep quality, and disrupted waste clearance in the brain all appear to link RLS and Parkinson's, underscoring the importance of restoring iron balance and improving sleep hygiene
- By optimizing dopamine naturally, maintaining healthy iron levels, getting quality sleep, and staying physically active during the day, you can calm restless legs now and strengthen your brain against degeneration later
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Do your legs start crawling at night, keeping you awake, and have you ever wondered what |
| 0:04.3 | that says about your brain's future? |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen |
| 0:11.4 | summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required. |
| 0:16.0 | Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:20.0 | Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster, and today we're |
| 0:26.4 | looking at Restless Leg Syndrome as more than a sleep nuisance. We'll break down what it signals |
| 0:31.5 | about dopamine, iron balance, and brain waste clearance, and what timely action could mean for |
| 0:37.4 | your long-term neurological |
| 0:38.7 | health? I'm Alara Sky. This conversation centers on new findings linking Restless Leg |
| 0:44.2 | Syndrome with a higher likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease, and why early practical steps, |
| 0:50.4 | especially those that improve sleep quality and restore nutrient balance can help you calm symptoms |
| 0:55.7 | now while supporting resilience later. |
| 0:58.8 | A long-running Korean analysis in Jama Network Open followed nearly 20,000 adults to see whether |
| 1:05.1 | restless legs precede Parkinson's. People with restless legs were more likely to receive a Parkinson's diagnosis over time. |
| 1:12.6 | The absolute numbers were small, about 1.6% versus 1%. |
| 1:17.6 | But the difference was significant, and onset tended to occur a bit sooner in the restless legs group. |
| 1:23.6 | Researchers also looked at treatment. |
| 1:25.6 | Among those with restless legs, individuals using dopamine |
| 1:29.1 | agonists, such as prima pexol or ropecoral, had about four times fewer Parkinson's diagnoses |
| 1:36.1 | than those who remained untreated. They also showed a slight, statistically significant |
| 1:41.6 | delay in diagnosis, which suggests that getting symptoms under control |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 12 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Briana Mercola, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Briana Mercola and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.