Countless people have had this happen to them in their lives. It happens when you’re at work, when you’re on the couch, when you’re just walking around, and even when you’re sleeping. And then when you finally switch positions, you notice that your leg or legs don’t work, and then you need to wait until the blood rushed back into them.
But it’s not over yet. Then you get the tingly feeling that seemingly never goes away, and it can sometimes be uncomfortable and painful.
But why does this happen? Is it a bad thing? Is it something worse that we’re ignoring?
Your Leg Falls Asleep Because of Lack of Blood Flow and Oxygen to the Muscles
When you’re stuck in one position for too long, you don’t realize it, but you’re reducing the amount of blood that body part is receiving, seriously reducing the amount of oxygen it is receiving.
This isn’t bad in the short-term, but in the long-term, it could be a serious problem that could have lingering effects.
For instance, if you had your hand up in the air for a long time and then put it down again, you might notice some blood rushing back into it and then getting an empty feeling. This happens because of gravity, and it happens all the time.
After a few minutes, you’ll be back to normal. But if you arm was stuck in that position for hours or days, you risk losing it for good due to congealing of the blood inside your arm.
This would lead to decay and septic blood, which would be a serious condition if you’re away from a hospital. Most people won’t ever encounter this, but it could happen if there’s an accident of some sort.
What You Can Do
While it is hard to put down a good book and switch positions, it’ll be good to move around and get the blood flowing again. it may be annoying to remember to do this every so often, but it’ll reduce your chances of getting the dreaded “dead leg” or “dead arm.”
It’s not that hard to do, and you’ll love it rather than having to stand in one spot for 5 minutes until you can feel again.
Being conscious of a problem is a good thing. if you can put an end to it for good, you’ll never get that awful tingly sensation again!
