Have you ever woken up and noticed that one or both of your hands feel strangely numb?
Maybe your fingers are tingling. Perhaps your hand feels “asleep,” as though thousands of tiny pins are pressing into your skin. Sometimes the sensation disappears after you shake your hand or change position. Other times, it keeps coming back throughout the day.
Occasional hand numbness is often related to something relatively simple, such as sleeping on your arm or keeping your wrist in an awkward position for too long.
But recurrent or persistent numbness can have many possible causes, including nerve compression, diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, circulation problems, medication effects, or conditions involving the neck and nervous system.
The pattern of numbness matters.
Which fingers are affected? Is it one hand or both? Does it happen mainly at night? Is there weakness? Does the sensation travel up the arm?
These details can provide important clues.
