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Our browse-and-search technique quickly failed us on this one. We simply didn't know where to start. That's why we resorted to a whole series of keyword searches. We searched on every single combination of "limb," "arm," "sleep," "fall asleep," "tingle," "prickly" and a whole bunch of other words. Things were looking grim until, deep within the search results, we spotted a page from one of our favorite resources, the MAD Scientist Network. They describe themselves as "a global, collective cranium of scientists providing answers to your questions." In fact, when we saw the URL, we kicked ourselves for not having thought to look there in the first place. When we actually visited the page, our guilt was compounded, because right
there in black and white was the answer to the question, Why do you feel the prickly feeling after releasing pressure on a nerve? The expert who offered the explanation, Robert West, really seemed to know his stuff when it comes to arms and legs that have fallen asleep. His answer goes into great detail, but it's all very easy to understand. It even includes a quick summary at the end. As for the painful feeling you get when your arm wakes up, West describes it like this: "¿when the pressure is released the body part may feel hot, have a disagreeable tingling or pricking sensation, or may even feel cramped. These sensations are called paraesthesias. A paraesthesia is a non-painful sensory phenomenon
which occurs in the absence of natural stimulation of sensory receptors." And now you know.
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