You wake up at 3 a.m., and one arm feels like it belongs to someone else: numb, heavy, or buzzing with pins and needles until you roll over and shake it out. In many cases, waking up with a numb arm has a straightforward explanation: you slept in a position that temporarily put pressure on a nerve. The Mayo Clinic says this common type of numbness typically disappears within a few minutes after changing position. But recurring nighttime numbness can also point to nerve compression in the wrist, elbow, or neck, and certain accompanying symptoms require immediate medical attention. The important distinction is whether your arm simply “fell asleep” or whether your body is giving you a pattern worth investigating. Here’s what you need to know, and when you should get checked out by a medical professional.
