So I woke up this morning around 4:20 and was pretty happy. After all, "Happiness is waking up, looking at the clock and finding you still have two hours left to sleep," a mantra I've lived by for over 30 years. I was especially happy because I actually had 2 hours and 40 minutes left to sleep. I shifted position and zonked back out.
An hour later I woke up to a discomfort I haven't felt in a long time. I had been laying on my left arm and it was completely asleep. Completely dead would probably be more accurate. I couldn't move it, of course, so I reached under my pillow with my right arm. Thinking my left arm was in the 1 o'clock position, I was highly disturbed when my right hand prematurely encountered my dead limb in the 3 o'clock position. I was just not prepared to feel this lifeless cold hand laying there. Brrr!
I moved my left arm then and the tingling started. Ahh! In another minute life had returned and I fell back asleep.
Once I woke up, I was curious about how long I would have to be in such a state for permanent injury to my arm. I was surprised to find that limbs falling asleep can be due to lack of blood flow or because of the compression of nerves, disrupting communication between the limb and the brain. I always thought it was just about blood flow. The good news is that your limb would have to be "asleep" for several hours to suffer permanent damage.
Fortunately for me this morning, had my zombie arm desired to eat brains, none were to be found nearby.
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