Probably, each of us is familiar with this feeling - "lay back" a hand. The limb is numb, you feel unpleasant tingling, do not touch objects with the surface of your fingers. But why is this happening? After all, the phenomenon is not always observed if you specifically pinch the bloodstream of a limb with your trunk, head, other hand or pillow. We will analyze this in the article - why the fingers on the hands go numb at night, which means this or that location of an unpleasant sensation, can this indicate a certain disease. We will also analyze methods that will help us get rid of this.
What is paresthesia?
Fingers in the hands go numb at night, or is most of the limb? In the medical world, this phenomenon is called "paresthesia." This feeling of discomfort in the limb is most characteristic of night time. Manifested by tingling, characteristic pain.
Therefore, when fingers are numb at night, a person wakes up from an unpleasant feeling. But enough to move a limb, move your fingers, rub the skin, as paresthesia ceases to bother - you can sleep further. Statistics say that from 7 to 45% of the population are familiar with such feelings.
Why do my fingers go numb at night? The main reason is a violation of blood circulation in the limb. That is, it is caused by an uncomfortable posture during sleep, when you squeeze blood flow to the hand and fingers. Of course, if paresthesia is a phenomenon that you rarely observe, it will not bother you much. But what if numbness makes itself felt periodically, or even every night?
Note!
Finger numb at night - what to do? If such a syndrome torments you often (or even every night), causes night discomfort, sleep disturbance, then there is only one way out - consult a specialist as soon as possible!
Additionally, the following should alert you:
- Numbness is felt both during sleep and after it.
- Paresthesia is noted in both limbs at the same time.
- You noticed that from night to night, it is the left or right hand that goes numb.
- Simultaneously with such an attack, you diagnose visual impairment in yourself.
Numbness location
Why do my hands and fingers go numb at night? You can find out the answer if you trace in which part of the limb you feel an unpleasant sensation. We suggest you refer to the table.
| Localization of paresthesia | Possible cause of sensation |
| Not defined, different every night | The most common causes of numbness in the upper extremities are polyneuropathy, intervertebral hernia, or cervical osteochondrosis |
| The fingers of the left hand go numb at night - only this limb | May be a symptom of one of the pathologies of cardiac function. If you feel the effect of paresthesia on the left upper limb from time to time, then this is an occasion to be checked with an ECG and consult a cardiologist. If the hand continues to go numb during the day, this is a dangerous factor. It can be a harbinger of both a pre-infarction condition and a stroke! |
| Fingers and the right hand go numb at night | The cause may be arthrosis, tunnel syndrome, cervical osteochondrosis, or a sharp narrowing of the blood vessels of the cervical vessels |
| At night, the fingers are numb - the little finger and the nameless | The most common cause is tunnel syndrome. However, in some cases this type of paresthesia may indicate a heart attack, stroke, spinal diseases, and serious neurological pathology. |
Note that the table is not a direct guide to diagnosing one or another disease in yourself (this is the prerogative of only your attending specialist). It only indicates the possible causes of frequent, periodic paresthesia. But they can hide not only in diseases.
Improper body position during sleep
Why do my fingers and hands go numb at night? The very first reason is that you are sleeping incorrectly. And this is how it can be expressed.
Wrong, inappropriate and not even adapted for sleeping pillow. In particular, too high. Or you specially put it on the edge. This creates the wrong base for your spine - it begins to bend in the cervical region. This factor is the reason. The fingers go numb at night precisely because of this. You may also feel general discomfort, back pain, tingling sensation throughout the body.
To solve the problem is very simple - get a new flat pillow. And best of all - orthopedic. The latter will help to give your head the correct anatomical position, which contributes to uniform blood circulation throughout sleep.
Numb fingers at night. The reason here is this: you sleep in uncomfortable tight, not stretching, tight clothes. A nightgown, pajamas in a dream can somehow twist, pull up, which compresses the vessels and causes paresthesia.
A common reason is an uncomfortable pose. In particular, you threw back your hands behind your head or placed your hand under a pillow or under your ear, cheek. So you also disrupt the blood supply processes. The fact is that the circulatory system at night will work in a gentle, slow mode. This means that in this situation, the blood simply will not reach your fingers.
And one more not quite usual factor of paresthesia. It's your job. If it is connected with the fact that you periodically during the working day hold your hands above the level of your heart (this is typical, for example, for installers, painters, artists), then at night you will probably wake up from an unpleasant sensation of numbness of the extremities.
Tunnel syndrome
At night in a dream, the fingers become numb - this is one of the manifestations of a professional syndrome. For whom is he characteristic? For people who regularly tighten the tendons of the upper extremities during the day. In other words, for those who for a long time make the same type of movement with their fingers, hands, hands in general.
Tunnel syndrome is characteristic of PC operators, typesetters (in the past, for typists), seamstresses, illustrators, artists, some musicians, and so on. In addition to numbness, a person who wakes up at night will also feel pain.
If we consider the anatomical atlas, then on the human hand we will see a small tubule - tendons and the nerve will pass through it, which is responsible for the sensitivity of the palms. With his (nerve) overvoltage due to prolonged work of the same type, edema occurs in this location. It is he who becomes the cause of numbness, numbness at night, or closer to morning, to awakening.
Tunnel syndrome is not just an unpleasant manifestation. Having discovered his signs, you should contact a specialist! After all, if you do not deal with the treatment of the syndrome in a timely manner, it can reach the death of the muscles responsible for the mobility of the thumb. This will already lead to a restriction of the mobility of the entire brush, the inability to perform a number of working and domestic operations. Most of all, tunnel syndrome is characteristic of women older than forty years.
Spinal column diseases
During sleep and after night the fingers become numb. Another common reason is the various pathologies that affect the spine. As a rule, a person will complain not only about numbness of the limbs at night. To this symptom is added a headache, periodic dizziness, ringing in the ears, and sometimes even loss of consciousness.
Taken together, these are very serious signs! You need to contact a neurologist as soon as possible. Perhaps the symptoms indicate an intervertebral hernia, osteochondrosis of the cervical column - diseases that require timely and complete treatment.
As practice shows, a frequent reason why the fingers are numb at night (left and right) is osteochondrosis of the spine. Unfortunately, a very common disease in modern times. It is associated with a sedentary lifestyle, "sedentary" work in the office or in the car seat. With such an improperly distributed load on the body, the muscles overexert and spasm. As a result, a person feels the characteristic numbness of his hands and fingers, not only at night, but throughout the day.
Osteochondrosis is a whole set of degenerative processes related to metabolism in the bone and cartilage tissues of the spinal column. Numbness will already indicate the stage of destruction of the vertebrae. Then the roots of the spinal nerve are squeezed, which becomes the result of painful sensations - in the upper limbs, back to the ribs.
Vascular disease
The fingers are numb and sore at night. The most dangerous reason here is vascular pathology. The fact is, if blood circulation is disturbed in one of the areas of the brain, this is reflected in its "jurisdictional territory." If this is a hand, then it can just numb.
Do you feel the limbs flowing, while simultaneously diagnosing a sharp increase in blood pressure, which is accompanied by dizziness, confusion? These are warning signs of a microstroke! It can cause banal overstrain, severe stress at home or at work. Or even a sharp jump in blood pressure.
Numbness of the hands is a characteristic sign of another dangerous vascular disease. It will be an ischemic stroke of the vertebral, cerebellar artery. Since blood circulation in one of the brain regions is also disturbed here, this may well be manifested by numbness of the fingers or the entire arm. An additional diagnosis of increased blood pressure (blood pressure), dizziness.
Bad habits
When your fingers go numb at night, treatment can sometimes consist in simply giving up bad habits! Yes, they can also be the cause of paresthesia.
If you smoke before bedtime or especially get up at night to smoke a cigarette, these actions provoke a sharp narrowing of blood vessels. The body can respond to this by numbness of the limbs.
A similar effect is given by the use of alcohol in the coming dream. The alcoholic drink acts a little differently. First, it dilates blood vessels for a short time, and then sharply narrows them. And an important fact. The vessels here do not narrow down to their original state, but to a smaller diameter. Therefore, paresthesia is one of the most harmless consequences of such a shock "shake."
Pregnancy
Pregnant women often notice numbness of both their fingers and their hands completely at night. The reasons for this can be either general, which we have listed above, or characteristic only of an "interesting situation."
The latter will include the following:
- A lack of calcium and magnesium in the body of a pregnant woman.
- Violation of water-salt balance.
- Pathological processes affecting the vascular walls, caused by hormonal changes in the body of the expectant mother.
- Sedentary lifestyle, decreased activity.
- Weight gain.
- Inconvenient pose in a dream.
- Diseases affecting the endocrine system.
- Anemia that develops during pregnancy.
- The development of diseases of the spine due to a new unusual load on it.
Other causes of paresthesia
The syndrome may have a number of other reasons. These are mainly chronic diseases:
- Diabetes.
- Coronary artery disease.
- Anemia.
- Hypertension.
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Vegetovascular dystonia.
Numbness of the hands is also evidence of a lack of trace elements. In particular, vitamins of group B.
Another infrequent, but still occurring cause of paresthesia is the formation of blood clots in the vessels. They complicate or completely stop blood circulation in a certain area, which also leads to numbness of the limb.
Diagnosis and therapy of paresthesia
A sufficient reason to contact a specialist for numbness of hands and fingers at night is the periodically or constantly tormenting you of paresthesia. But even if rare numbness does not go away within an hour - a good reason for concern.
Paresthesia is not an independent disease. This is a consequence of another pathology, disease. First of all, you need to go to the therapist’s office. Your doctor should refer you to a neurologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist or traumatologist for further examination.
Further, it all depends on the diagnostic results:
- Urinalysis, blood tests, studies of the gastrointestinal tract are performed to detect disorders of the endocrine system.
- Another cause of paresthesia is elbow neuropathy. This pathology helps to detect electroneuromyography.
- Often, numbness causes some kind of trauma, overstrain of the muscles of the arm. Here, sufficient recommendations are given by a traumatologist.
- The reason may be purely neurological in nature. In this case, the patient is assigned a therapeutic complex - taking vitamins, drug treatment, physiotherapy.
How to get rid of sensation?
So we examined the causes and treatment. The fingers go numb at night - how to get rid of this condition? We suggest you follow a simple algorithm.
The first thing to do is:
- Check how comfortable the pillow and mattress are for sleeping on the bed where you sleep.
- Pay attention to your nightwear - it should be soft, spacious, not squeeze the body with elastic, cloth.
- Ask your family to watch you sleep. Perhaps you are just taking an uncomfortable sleeping position.
Numbness still does not go away? Then more cardinal actions:
- See your doctor at the facility.
- In the direction of the therapist - for a consultation with a narrow specialist, go through a hardware examination, pass the necessary tests.
- Based on the results of the diagnosis, you will be prescribed treatment, general recommendations.
- In special cases, you have to change jobs that are harmful to your health.
The treatment for the syndrome is usually the following:
- Local - restoration of damaged tissues and the resumption of their functions. This is laser, physiotherapy, ultrasound, electrophoresis.
- Therapeutic exercises, regular physical activity. Especially helps morning exercises and a mini-warm-up two hours before bedtime.
- Reception of anti-inflammatory, vasodilators, vitamin complex.
- Appeal to the chiropractor. Usually the condition returns to normal in 1-5 sessions.
To prevent paresthesia, you should not ignore the usual gymnastics of the shoulder girdle. Effective exercises are:
- Squeezing / unclenching the fingers of the upper limbs.
- After relaxing your fingers, wrists, shake your hands well several times.
- Lie on your back. In this position, raise and lower your hands slowly several times.
- During the day, roll a massage, special studded ball in the palm of your hand.
The causes of nighttime numbness of the hands are many. If you often have paresthesia, the sensation does not go away for a long time - do not hesitate, consult a doctor as soon as possible!