# foot falling asleep

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2000, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388 "2000-05-13T00:01:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![usfrae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dfb087/32.png) [@usfrae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usfrae)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388/1 "2000-05-13T00:01:09Z")

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What causes that strange feeling when your foot falls asleep?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388/2 "2000-05-13T02:05:11Z")

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Here’s a link to [MSNBC](http://msnbc.com/news/247963.asp) where it’s explained.

“Pins and needles” or “paresthesia” is also called “formication,” the feeling that your skin is crawling with ants.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388/3 "2000-05-13T16:12:40Z")

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cecil sez:  
'Trivial Pursuit–let me tell you, there’s the story of my life. Anway, forget that “feedback device for self-protection” stuff. The  
numbness you’re talking about is called neurapraxia, and it usually occurs when some major nerve gets compressed between a  
bone and some other hard object, such as a table or another bone. Nerves that are particularly vulnerable to this include the  
ulnar nerve, which runs through the funny-bone channel in your elbow, and the peroneal nerve, which runs through a similar  
channel at the top of the fibula near the knee. ’

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**Author:** ![Fanny\_May](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3be4f8/32.png) [@Fanny\_May](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fanny_May)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2000, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-falling-asleep/19388/4 "2000-05-13T17:15:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> “paresthesia”  
> “formication” \*\*

Well I’ll be cowkicked. **Call for the Moderator!** Can we move this to the Pit, please? There are ladies present.