Introduction
If the hand falls asleep at night, the person concerned is severely impaired. A hand that falls asleep at night – also known as Brachialgia paraethetica nocturna – often disturbs sleep and can be very unpleasant. Especially if the symptoms occur frequently and repeatedly, it should be clarified whether there is a disease behind the symptom.
The reason for limbs that have fallen asleep is the impression of one or more nerves. If these are exposed to a certain amount of pressure over a certain period of time, the hands fall asleep and can only be returned to normal by moving the hand and thus relieving the nerves. A common reason for this is the so-called carpal tunnel syndrome, especially when the hands fall asleep during the night. The individual therapy depends on the cause of the symptom. The training of other sleeping habits, bandages and splints as well as, in special cases, a surgical intervention are among the possible therapy options.
Symptoms
People who suffer from nightly falling asleep of the hand often wake up as a result. In addition to numbness of the hand, tingling sensations in the fingers and pain in the hand can occur. In many cases not only the hand is affected, but also parts of the arm.
Usually the symptoms improve after a few minutes when the nerve is relieved, when the pressure is removed from the nerve, but sometimes the sensations last for a longer period of time. Falling asleep of the hands at night is a frequent early symptom of carpal tunnel syndrome. In this case, depending on the degree of the disease, other symptoms can also occur, and often the hands fall asleep during the day and under stress.
At an advanced stage, weakness or even atrophy of the thumb muscles can be detected. A frequent accompanying symptom is pain. During the night, pain can be so severe that the person concerned wakes up and suffers from sleep problems.
In many cases, the pain also radiates into the arm. Usually the pain disappears again after a short period of time and relief, but it can still be very annoying and stressful when waking up. The cause for the pain is a compressed nerve.
This is often caused by pressure from an unfavorable sleeping position. In carpal tunnel syndrome, on the other hand, the carpal tunnel causes swelling of the tendon sheaths, which then compress the nerve (nervus medianus). If an unfavorable sleeping position is the cause, it helps to change this and to get used to a different sleeping position.
However, if one or both hands often fall asleep at night, one should never ignore these complaints. This can be caused by various illnesses such as carpal tunnel syndrome, which are usually easy to treat in the early stages. A slipped disc of the cervical spine can also lead to similar complaints and should therefore be excluded.
If there is also pain in the area of the elbow, this is the most likely location. Here, a nerve (nervus ulnaris), which supplies the hand on the little finger side sensitively, runs very superficially in a bone groove, also known as “funny bone”. Due to this exposed position, the nerve can easily be compressed by pressure during the night and then cause discomfort.
In addition to the pain, falling asleep skin often causes an unpleasant tingling sensation, as probably everyone knows from falling asleep extremities. Some patients describe this as “formication”, in technical terminology the corresponding term is paresthesia, the difference between this and numbness (hypaesthesia). This is characterized by a reduced sensitivity of the skin to sensory stimuli.
The neurologist calls the nightly falling asleep of the hand or arm with tingling and pain Brachialgia paraesthetica nocturna. Similar to pain, these symptoms are caused by nerve compression. If the corresponding nerve is relieved of the pressure, the discomfort quickly subsides.
This can sometimes be brought about by a change of position of the hand or arm. You can find more information under: Tingling of the hand. There are a number of different causes that can cause the hand to fall asleep during the night.
All causes have in common that ultimately pressure, one or more nerves of the hand or arm are involved.Especially if the affected hand or arm is bent or the affected person lies on the hand or arm, such pressure on a nerve can occur. The same applies if the arm is pushed through the edge of the bed or a pillow. For this reason, abdominal and side sleepers often suffer from hands falling asleep during the night.
Whether this cause is the trigger of the complaints can be found out by trying to change your sleeping habits. Another common cause is carpal tunnel syndrome. Here, the so-called median nerve, which runs through the carpal tunnel, is compressed in the wrist area.
Falling asleep hands during the night are a possible early symptom of the disease and should therefore be taken seriously. Various causes can lead to the development of carpal tunnel syndrome, especially overstrain or inflammation. A fallen asleep hand indicates in principle a disturbance of the corresponding nerves.
It is known that a vitamin B12 deficiency in the context of a polyneuropathy can lead to tingling sensations and many other symptoms, but these typically occur not only at night but also during the day. Patients with a vitamin B12 deficiency often also complain of numbness or burning pain in the hands and feet. Vitamin B12 is important for the insulating layer of nerve fibers, the so-called myelin sheath.
A vitamin B12 deficiency that persists for several months therefore leads to a breakdown and thus damage of the myelin sheath. Especially people who eat a vegan diet are at risk of developing such a deficiency. At an early stage, this damage can be treated well by the administration of vitamin B12.
If the vitamin B12 deficiency remains undetected for a long period of time, irreversible nerve damage can occur. For this reason, a presentation should be made to the family doctor if the symptoms are present. Normally, a fallen asleep hand is not a typical symptom of a heart attack.
However, a heart attack can present itself with numerous different symptoms, so that it can never really be ruled out with certainty. Since a heart attack is a potentially life-threatening condition, you should consult a doctor if you have a really well-founded suspicion. This is particularly the case if additional symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath occur. Then it is certainly advisable to call the emergency services. If the hand has fallen asleep without further symptoms, this can also be observed at first and the family doctor can be consulted if necessary.
