When your hands are falling asleep (and the rest of you is awake), it can be due to either an insulin or a cardiovascular issue, or both. The cardiovascular issue (heart) should be checked by a qualified cardiologist, just to rule out any immediate serious problems. Usually the issue is from too much stress: emotional, physical, and/or nutritional. Your body will enter into a “sympathetic” overdrive state, similar to a constant fight-or-flight reaction. Resolving the stress will in turn resolve, or wake up the problem. The problem may also be from carbohydrate intolerance, also known as insulin resistance. Sometimes this causes only the hands to fall asleep while you’re already sleeping, if that makes any sense. Often times you may think that you have rolled over and cut off the circulation to your arm so your hand falls asleep, and although this is sometimes true, it is more often from a higher than normal insulin level and/or low blood sugar. Try cutting out the sugars, juices, soft drinks (including diet drinks), and reducing overall carbohydrate intake. Eliminate all hydrogenated fats too. Hormones, especially cortisol and norepinephrine from too much stress, can also be the problem.
Dr. Stephen Gangemi
I'm a board certified chiropractic physician and clinical nutritionist with a passion for true natural health care. I implement dietary & nutritional therapies, exercise & movement practices, and lifestyle changes along with manual therapy techniques to help the body heal and prevent illness and injuries.
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