# Why can't I clench my fist when I wake up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982 "2006-02-04T13:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/21 "2006-02-05T00:06:26Z")
Apologies for the badly written post. I noticed _the weak clench_ when I was a kid, but I don’t have it now. Art_h_ritis is chronic and affects joints not muscles. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/22 "2006-02-05T00:21:48Z")
My swelling is do to an over active immune response. You don’t see the swelling if it’s mild, and making a fist is hard. I won’t post antmore on this, as the topic is pretty much exhausted for me. Best of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/23 "2006-02-05T01:28:31Z")
I also used to get this when I was a kid. I haven’t had it for so long now that I’d forgotten about it until reading the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![PlughPlover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@PlughPlover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlughPlover)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/24 "2006-02-05T01:42:00Z")
During REM sleep the body shuts down certain neurotransmitters to the muscles, to prevent you from acting out your dreams. It’s a defense mechanism called REM atonia. People who don’t have it often injure themselves. In some people, REM atonia lasts for a couple of minutes after they wake up, producing “sleep paralysis” - a whole body paralysis. It’s quite frightening, and many people think it goes on for longer than it really does. I suspect the inability to clench your fist, or be steady on your feet shortly after you wake up, is just the remains of REM atonia going away. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REM\_atonia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REM_atonia) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/25 "2006-02-05T01:56:59Z")
Nice explanation, **PlughPlover** , thanks. I’ve had sleep paralysis a couple of times, and it was weird as shit. My eyes were open and I was screaming for help as loud as I could, but all I could hear was me, breathing deeply, because my body was fast asleep. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/26 "2006-02-05T04:44:19Z")
> [@PlughPlover](#): > > During REM sleep the body shuts down certain neurotransmitters to the muscles, to prevent you from acting out your dreams. It’s a defense mechanism called REM atonia. People who don’t have it often injure themselves. I was going to say the same thing. I had sleep paralysis once, and I’ve had the condition listed in the original post a few times, although only for a few seconds. The latter does seem like a milder version of the former. It’s kind of like how if you got stabbed in the back, you wouldn’t be able to grip anything tightly, except there’s no pain from being stabbed in the back. (Okay, that probably isn’t a good simile, but I tried.) ---
**Author:** ![Analogue\_Skywalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Analogue\_Skywalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Analogue_Skywalker)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/27 "2006-02-05T07:56:23Z")
it’s all the posting you do on SDMB before you head to bed. your fingers are still strained. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/28 "2006-02-05T11:27:04Z")
Arthritis is chronic yes but it does not necessarily cause constant painful swelling. Bear in mind there are several types of arthritis. The reason i suggested it is that the descriptions sound similar to the symptoms i have with Psoriatic Arthritis i.e. weakness of the hands in the mornings after i wake (yes **buncome** kids can get it). I generally don’t have many other symptoms except for occasional flare-ups. No swelling, no twisted joints, no pain. Just weakness of my hands in the morning. (And incidentally when i first presented my symptoms to a doctor the first thing he wanted to know was ‘Does this mostly feel odd in the morning?’ as this is apparently a decider in working out what’s going on). Whether or not the OP’s issues arise from arthritis or not i don’t know. But it would be wise to at least _mention_ the symptoms to a doctor to discover whether it is something which will be problematic or something that is just normal for him. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/29 "2006-02-05T12:17:12Z")
This is weird, I too have this morning weakness, and have always called it “the bumblies”. Today I spent the morning outside in -16C sunshine and then hard snow for the last 30 minutes, watching my son’s school winter sports day. Then I spent the next two hours shovelling snow off the road as my FIL chucked it down from our carport roof where it had accumulated 70cm in the past 24 hours. Because FIL was sending it down to the road, I had to keep going long after I’d had enough. As soon as he’d gone I had a bath and then headed to bed for a LOOOONG nap. I slept hard but dreamed a lot and woke up right after a dream, to find my kids jumping about on top of me wanting to play. We do The Hand, where they grab my floppy arms and wag them about, until my hand suddenly sticks to their face and squeezes with no warning. I couldn’t make my hand stick! I am SURE it was to do with the heavy and dreamy sleep I had just come out of, not directly the muscle fatigue. I still feel clumsy two hours later, and typing is hard. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/30 "2006-02-05T22:54:07Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > I can’t make a fist when I’ve been laughing. You better hope you don’t get mugged by a clown. ---
**Author:** ![polymaths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@polymaths](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polymaths)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/31 "2014-08-06T19:46:43Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > I can’t make a fist when I’ve been laughing. That sounds exactly like cataplexy. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/32 "2014-08-06T20:38:41Z")
\*\*Why can’t I clench my fist when I wake up? \*\* Let go of your dick! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/33 "2014-08-06T21:42:17Z")
You should stay out of range of a zombie’s clenched fist. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/34 "2014-08-06T23:24:31Z")
> [@zelie\_zelerton](#): > > It may be worthwhile having your doctor check it out in case you do have some sort of problem. How much would that cost? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982/35 "2014-08-07T08:09:47Z")
**Moderator Action** Let’s put this poor zombie back in its grave. Thread closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-clench-my-fist-when-i-wake-up/342982.md?page=1)