Just a note for those who suffer from RSI-related symptoms of some sort or another (because this article doesn't say a word about it): pay attention to your sleeping positions!
I started suffering from pins-and-needles in my fingers a few years ago. As a programmer, I was totally terrified that my typing was ruining my wrists and, despite my best workplace ergonomical efforts, it wasn't getting any better.
After a few months of sporadic symptoms, I noticed that the bad days were really bad in the mornings and got progressively better over the course of a workday. Huh, why would that be? I started paying more attention to how I slept (pillow positions, spine positions, restlessness, temperature, etc.) and noticed that I was curling my wrists pretty badly when I got cold at night or when life was more stressful. I'd literally wake up with both my fists curled into a ball.
So, really, I was spending many nights with my wrists curled for hours at a time. That can't be good! To fix this, I started spending a few minutes each night consciously laying my hands flat with my arms at my sides and getting comfortable with a better sleeping position. It took a few months to make this effort a habit, BTW.
Here I am a few years later and guess what? No more pins-and-needles feelings in my fingers. I haven't read any other literature covering this type of sleep-related injury, but I know it exists and I'm sure there are others who suffer needlessly.
I've had this exact same experience. On a somewhat related note, there may be 'pressure points' that occur in different sitting positions that may cause reduced blood-flow to the wrists, hands and fingers. I experience some RSI in my ring and pinky fingers for over a year and became very concerned that it would get worse. After partially alleviating the problems with a Kinesis Advantage keyboard, I actually discovered that the majority of the issues came from resting my elbows on my elbow rests throughout the day. This was putting pressure on the ulnar nerve and causing the issues in my ring and pinky fingers. It took me over a year to discover this, but when I did the symptoms rapidly went away. I also found that side-sleeping on my arm was doing a similar thing.
A friend of mine mentioned similar issues that resulted from pressure on the palms of the hands during long periods of typing (he's an editor for a magazine).
I discovered the exact same thing. I had previously bought an RSI wristguard to use at work, with limited success... started wearing it overnight and the pain went away very quickly. Lesson learnt!
I started suffering from pins-and-needles in my fingers a few years ago. As a programmer, I was totally terrified that my typing was ruining my wrists and, despite my best workplace ergonomical efforts, it wasn't getting any better.
After a few months of sporadic symptoms, I noticed that the bad days were really bad in the mornings and got progressively better over the course of a workday. Huh, why would that be? I started paying more attention to how I slept (pillow positions, spine positions, restlessness, temperature, etc.) and noticed that I was curling my wrists pretty badly when I got cold at night or when life was more stressful. I'd literally wake up with both my fists curled into a ball.
So, really, I was spending many nights with my wrists curled for hours at a time. That can't be good! To fix this, I started spending a few minutes each night consciously laying my hands flat with my arms at my sides and getting comfortable with a better sleeping position. It took a few months to make this effort a habit, BTW.
Here I am a few years later and guess what? No more pins-and-needles feelings in my fingers. I haven't read any other literature covering this type of sleep-related injury, but I know it exists and I'm sure there are others who suffer needlessly.