Easiest way:-

Wake the missus and tell her to get down the end of the bed and bend your feet towards your chin. Works for footballers!!

Dehydration can be a cause, take on extra liquid befor sleeping (of course that may not exactly help the other condition some elderly men have). Swings and roundabouts?

About three months ago I awoke, swung my legs out of bed to start getting dressed and was hit by extremely painful cramp in the left calf muscle. The pain was excruciating and only after some vigorous massaging did it start to subside. Then I felt pain begin in my right calf but managed to suppress it by further massaging.

Read on the internet that the quinine in some drinks was a good treatment so started to take that. Unfortunately my morning cramps worsened and spread to my fingers and toes, so a visit to my doctor resulted in him subscribing Quinine Bisulphate 300mg tablets with one to be taken daily.

For me those tablets are certainly working and I've not had any more painful occurences. That is not to say that the cramps have totally gone away, as I can faintly feel their underlying existence, usually on waking each day. It looks like I'll have to continue with the quinine tabs for some time yet, possibly for life, but that I can live with, as the actual full-blown pain of cramps each day would be unbearable.

On a lighter note, my system's blood supply should now be totally 'mozzy-proof.' So much so, that on holiday in their domain, the little blighters should fall dead at my feet! :))

I do continue to do upper and lower stretching exercises most mornings that certainly seem to help me. TC.

SparkyJack I believe the drink "Tonic Water" contains Quinine. Maybe better trying this rather than tablets. It may be even better with a Gin in.LOL

I've started taking more salt as others here are doing. It seems to work.

On the odd occasion when I do get cramp in my legs, I find that stretching my leg out and bending the foot upwards and outwards really hard for a couple of minutes stops the cramp immediately.