It's a sensation of tingling, burning, prickling or numbness, most often in your arms, hands, legs or feet.
Usually, it happens after you’ve held a position too long – say, sitting cross-legged – that puts pressure on a nerve or limits blood flow.
The affected body part has, in popular parlance, “fallen asleep”.
The medical term is paraesthesia, but is it a cause for concern?
“It’s something we’re all familiar with, and in itself, harmless,” says neurologist Dr Claudia Sommer.
When you change position and stretch the body part, it might be painful or prickle sharply for a moment.
“But then it quickly goes away and the problem is solved,” says Dr Sommer, a senior neurology professor at Wurzburg University Hospital in Germany.
Older people – starting from about age 50 – exper
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