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| I cured the pin pricking sensation on my skin. |
Skin pricking sensation disclaimer
This article is by no means intended to diagnose or treat any medical conditions. I am simply sharing my own personal experiences for the sake of anecdotal evidence. Always consult your medical practitioner when you feel any sensation of pain or before you make any lifestyle changes.Why do I get a pricking sensation at night?
I finally found the cause! I used to get horrible pricking sensations on my skin late at night when I was trying to fall asleep. It was a sharp pain that came and went in an instant. It felt like a bug bite. I know that it was not a bug bite because it would happen all over my body in the same time frame, but not at all on other nights.I would get this pricking pain on my left leg and then on my right arm a minute later. Sure enough, I'd get the same sensation on my neck the next minute - and on my foot the next. I could have it all over my body the one night and then not at all on the next night.
The sensations would stop as soon as I got out of bed and return as soon as I lay down again. This was extremely frustrating. It took me a long time to finally identify the cause of the issue so that I could solve it.
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| Don't despair in times of frustration. |
Possible causes for skin pricks when trying to fall asleep
1. Bug bites
2. Cold temperature
3. Lack of sleep
4. Stress
5. Nerve/nervous system damage
6. Lack of blood circulation
7. Eczema or dry skin
8. Allergic reactions
These were the potential causes that I identified:
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| Find your cause. Solve your problem. |
1. Bug bites
It was possible that it was bug bites. Bed bugs can be the cause of pricking sensations during sleep. I didn't have any visible marks - I got up immediately and looked into the mirror to check. The pain came and went in an instant, and there were no marks to show for it. I also closely examined my bed and found no insects that I could visibly see.
2. Cold temperature
I noticed that I tended to get this more often on winter nights. I tried covering myself completely with my blankets. I then waited for my breath to heat up my whole body. I tried this multiple times. My body temperature increased and I didn't feel cold, but I still felt the pricking sensations come and go on my skin.
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| Look after your skin. |
3. Lack of sleep
Lack of good sleep was my next possible culprit. There wasn't a surefire way for me to test out this theory because I couldn't decide which nights to get more sleep and which days I had to wake up early. Most of us struggle with whatever sleep we can get.
I have often struggled with getting enough sleep, and science says that it's not totally my fault. Our genetics determine which part of the day we are most likely to feel sleepy.
I used exercise to reset my body clock and I found other ways to get to sleep as quickly as possible, but this specific method wasn't the way that I stopped those pin prick feelings at night in bed.
4. Stress
My third theory was that stress was causing these horrible sharp pains on my skin when I was trying to fall asleep. Perhaps I couldn't relax at night and it materialized in the form of shooting pain in my skin. It is possible for stress to cause pins and needles.
Who wouldn't eliminate stress from their lives if they could!? I probably could have tried out some relaxation techniques before bed (and that might have provided relief), but I never got down to giving it a try.
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| Look after your skin. |
5. Nerve damage or an overworked central nervous system
You can get pins and needles from nerve damage or damage to the spinal cord or brain. While I didn't sustain any physical injuries, there could be other similar causes.
I could have pushed myself too far at the gym and caused over-training that lead to a compromised central nervous system, which causes a disruption of nerve messaging and then results in pricking sensations.
Another possible cause in this category would be a deficiency in minerals or electrolytes. Low calcium can cause tingling and so can a deficiency in other minerals like phosphorus, potassium and sodium (see deficiency symptoms for each mineral in that link to learn more about mineral deficiency in particular).
Your body depends on a healthy diet to regulate these minerals, and sweating causes a loss of several important minerals that you need for nerve function.
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| Look after your health. |
6. Lack of blood circulation
You can have bad blood circulation for a variety of reasons.
Diabetic nerve pain could be the cause (which would come from diabetes).
Low blood pressure can cause poor blood circulation. This can cause funny skin sensations. High blood pressure can also cause prickly skin sensations.
Other causes of tingling skin can be a pinched nerve, toxins, alcohol, anxiety, pregnancy, repetitive strain injury, vitamin deficiency, multiple sclerosis, medication, infections, kidney failure, autoimmune disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke.
7. Eczema or dry skin
I have eczema. I have it in the form of dry skin most of the time. It is a lot worse in winter. My skin sometimes gets so bad in winter that red streaks form and its opens up.
If my skin is the worst during winter and the pricking sensation happens the most at the same time of the year, perhaps the two are related.
I tried a deep moisturizing treatment before bed - and I still had the pricking sensations when I lie in my bed.
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| The solution is worth it! |
8. Allergic reactions
This was the cause. I finally found it! Treating my allergies solved my problem. I eventually noticed that if I took a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) (painkiller) or antihistamine before bed time, I didn't have any problems with my skin at night.
I simply needed to manage my allergies better. When my body wasn't in an allergic state, I didn't have any issues. I am assuming that winter's drying effects on my skin weakened its barrier and therefore made it more susceptible to an allergic reaction.
By the way, allergies are believed to be the culprit behind conditions like eczema as well.
I am not 100% sure what triggered the allergic reaction. It could be dust mites in the bed sheets (which are known to cause allergic reactions in people with allergies).
As long as my allergies are under control, I don't have any prickling sensations on my skin when I want to go to sleep.
Conclusion
As you can see; it has taken a lot of sleepless nights, research, and trial and error to find the problem and solve it. I hope that all my troubles can help you to find restful sleep much sooner than I did. Stay Strong!
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