A Kentucky woman is warning others about the dangers of an unusual sleeping position. Her PSA comes after her husband developed a serious nerve injury from it.
Most of us don’t think twice about the way we fall asleep. Curled up on our side, arm under the pillow, or sprawled out on the couch, sleeping positions can feel harmless, even comforting.
But doctors say the way we position our bodies at night can sometimes carry risks, especially if nerves or blood vessels are compressed for hours at a time.
The Sleep PSA You Didn’t Know You Needed
In a two-part viral TikTok with more than 400,000 views, content creator Mikayla (@_mikaylahammons) shares how a sleep position led to her husband’s disability.
In the video, Mikayla shows that her husband fell asleep on the couch with his hand tucked under his head. It’s a position she nicknamed “dinosaur hands.” It’s the kind of move you do if you were sleeping in a chair trying to support your head.
While the hand placement may look harmless, doctors told the couple it left him with radial nerve palsy, sometimes referred to as “Saturday night palsy.”
“When he woke up, he thought his arm was just asleep,” Mikayla explains in the video. “But he couldn’t move his hand, couldn’t move his fingers. His hand was stuck. He could move his thumb side to side, but he couldn’t open and shut his hand.”
At first, doctors feared her husband might have suffered a stroke, but after further testing, they determined his radial nerve—which runs from the upper arm to the hand—was damaged by the prolonged pressure of sleeping with his arm pinned.
The injury left him unable to feel parts of his arm and hand all the way up to the elbow.
“This is your sign to not sleep like this!!!” she wrote in the caption.
Long-Term Consequences
Mikayla says the condition has sidelined her husband from work.
Since he can’t feel injuries if they happen, like a cut or burn, his doctors won’t sign off on physical labor.
“You can literally take needles and poke his arm, pinch them, anything. He’s not feeling it,” she says.
Her husband now wears a hand brace and attends therapy to prevent muscle stiffness and improve mobility. Mikayla adds that he has a follow-up nerve test scheduled soon to see if treatment has helped.
What To Know About Radial Nerve Palsy
The radial nerve stretches from the armpit down the arm to the hand, helping control movement and sensation, the Mount Sinai site explained. When it’s compressed or damaged, sometimes just from resting in an awkward sleep position, it can lead to radial nerve palsy.
This condition often shows up as numbness, tingling, burning, or weakness in the back of the hand and fingers. Some people find they can’t bend their wrist or straighten their elbow properly, while others notice their grip feels uncoordinated or weak.
The most common culprits include sleeping with pressure on the upper arm, arm injuries or fractures, or long-term pressure from things like crutches or straps. In some cases, it can also be linked to conditions such as diabetes or even lead poisoning.
Treatment usually depends on how severe the injury is. Doctors may recommend:
- Splints or braces to support the wrist or hand
- Physical or occupational therapy
- Pain relief or corticosteroid injections
- Surgery if symptoms are severe or not improving
Most people recover once the nerve is no longer compressed, but healing can take weeks or months.
In rare cases, lasting numbness or weakness may remain. Preventing the condition often comes down to being mindful of posture and avoiding prolonged pressure on the arms.
@_mikaylahammons
@_mikaylahammons I tried to do this quickly so I apologize if it’s a mess!! #fyp
Commenters React
“Completely paralyzed my left arm from the elbow down from a 30 minute nap in my computer chair a few years ago,” a person shared.
“I sleep like this and sometimes when I wake up my arm fell asleep so hard it feels completely limp and I have to flip it around to get circulation again,” another added.
“This happened to a patient of mine. It was like that for 4 months. Then resolved,” a health care professional shared.
BroBible reached out to Mikayla for comment via TikTok direct message and comment.