Have you ever fallen aslee with your arms up over your head and been completely unabl to lift them when you wake up?

No?

Just me?

Why do our body parts fall asleep?

Well, it can feel super weird when a body part falls asleep when you've been sitting on it for a long time or, say, sleeping on your hand and then waking up to it feeling like someone else's hand.

Your leg or arm might feel heavy, numb, and hard to move.

The scientific name fo this sensation is paresthesia, but it's a common occurrence with a simple explanation.

Basically, if you sit or lie in one position for a while, that can compress your nerves and restrict blood flow in small blood vessels.

The sensation is pretty common in your hands, feet, legs or arms, but you can get it in your bottom too.

And that one's gotten a fun name: dead butt syndrome.

When you stand up or change position, the pressure eases and your body part starts to wake up.

That's when you might get that tingly, painful, or burning pins and needles feeling.

It's just your nerves starting to fire signals back to your brain a little bit jumbled at first.

Shaking your sleepy body part can help encourage blood flow to come back, and that feeling should go away quickly.

It's nothing to worry about if it only happens once in a while, or if you know you've been sitting funny.

But be sure to check in with the doctor if it's happening a lot or you don't know what's causing it.

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