Why Your Hand Wakes You Up At 2AM
Your hand wakes you at two in the morning, numb and buzzing. You shake it out
until it comes back. Here is what is actually happening inside your wrist, and why
shaking it works.
Dr Jesse Dashe, Hand Surgeon
San Leandro, CA
(510) 297-0550
https://drdashe.com
This video is general education, not medical advice. If your hand is waking you at
night, see a hand surgeon for an evaluation.
Transcript
Your hand wakes you at 2:00 in the morning, numb, buzzing. You shake it out until it comes back. Here is what is actually happening. There is a tunnel in your wrist, nine tendons and one nerve share it, no spare room. When you sleep, your wrist curls and the tunnel tightens. The nerve is the softest thing in there, so it gives first. Press it long enough and it stops sending signal. That is the numbness. You straighten the wrist, pressure drops, the signal comes back. That is why shaking works. It was never how you were lying on it. It was the angle of your own wrist every night. So, the first thing we try is not surgery. It is a splint that holds your wrist straight while