Wednesday, February 29, 2012

sleepy legs with a mind of their own, no one said we were ready for naps.

I hated when in elementary school people told me to sit crisscross apple sauce, not only was the rhyming really annoying, that only meant one thing, my legs were gonna fall asleep and this lame ass rug was not big enough to stretch out my tiny lil legs out and this loser in front of me would complain if I did, believe it or not, I once got in trouble for not following this exact instruction. Screw you kinder TA I still remember you yelling at me….
In any case why do your limbs fall asleep when you sit or lay or position them in a certain fashion. Turns out the actual medical name for this sensation is “paresthesia” and its not because blood flow is being restricted to your limb but rather it’s a nerve that because of slight pressure stops functioning correctly. Seriously I always got scared because I thought blood was not coming into my little legs. Think of it like a water hose being stepped on, it stops the water from flowing, that’s kinda what happens to your nerves, the pressure stops flow of blood to specific nerves not the whole limb. Did you also know that excessive vibrations also cause limbs to sleep? Dirt bike riders often get this numb sensation in their arms.
So there you have it, mean TAs and water hoses. Now I know.

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