What’s Causing My Arms to Fall Asleep At Night?
I’m sure you’ve experienced it: your arms and hands are suddenly cold, stiff or even completely numb while you’re sleeping. You wake up with them and they feel like they have frozen solid. Your eyes flutter open only to see that your fingers aren’t moving; you can’t move them either!
Is this normal? How come I don’t experience anything similar during sleep?
Your mind may wonder if there’s something wrong with your body, but you need to get answers before deciding what to do next.
The first thing you might want to check out is whether your environment is causing this phenomenon.
For example, does the air conditioning or heating system make you feel cold?
If so, then maybe it’s time for a new AC unit or heater.
If your problem is with your sleeping arrangements, then perhaps you should consider changing where you sleep. Some people sleep on their stomachs because it’s easier to reach all parts of the body when lying down. Other people prefer to lie flat on their backs because it gives them better circulation throughout the whole body.
Another possible cause could be a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure. These conditions can affect your blood vessels leading to numbness in certain areas of the body. If you think this might be your issue, then make an appointment to see your doctor.
Finally, the last thing that could be causing this is something as simple as not sleeping on your arm or hand in just the right way. Think about how you like to sleep. Perhaps you sleep with your arms above your head or maybe you like to tuck them under a pillow.
Either way, this positioning could be the culprit of your symptoms.
If you’ve eliminated everything else and you’re still not sure what the problem is, then try changing your sleeping position. Lie on your back, keep your arms at your side, or whatever suits you best.
Good luck in your search for answers! Don’t forget to write back if this helped you at all.
Sources & references used in this article:
Solve your child’s sleep problems: new, revised by R Ferber – 2006 – books.google.com
Crying baby, sleepless nights by TS Arthur – 1857 – Evans
Sleeping Through the Night, Revised Edition: How Infants, Toddlers, and Parents can get a Good Night’s sleep by S Jones – 1992 – books.google.com
Sleep: A groundbreaking guide to the mysteries, the problems, and the solutions by JA Mindell – 2010 – books.google.com
Bear attacks: their causes and avoidance by CH Schenck – 2007 – books.google.com
Healthy sleep habits, happy child: A step-by-step program for a good night’s sleep by S Herrero – 2018 – books.google.com
Imagine feeling very tired, going to bed, and quickly falling asleep. Your rest is soon disturbed, though, by some sort of rustling noise. You open your eyes and … by M Weissbluth – 2015 – books.google.com
Chronic behavioral disorders of human REM sleep: a new category of parasomnia by C Patterns – Sleep Paralysis: Night-mares, Nocebos, and the …, 2011 – books.google.com
Why babies should never sleep alone: A review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding by CH Schenck, SR Bundlie, MG Ettinger, MW Mahowald – Sleep, 1986 – academic.oup.com
