The discomfort prompts you to adjust your position, which is necessary to avoid permanent damage that may occur in the limbs if blood flow is restricted and nerves are compressed for several hours. When your foot falls asleep, it’s actually because the nerves that connect the brain to the foot are getting squished thanks to the position you’re sitting in.

Remember, it’s these nerves that carry messages back and forth to let your brain and your foot communicate with each other. Don’t worry, that feeling will only last for a few minutes and then everything will feel normal again.

For a minute or two it feels uncomfortable and weird, but soon enough you are able to stand up and walk around normally. However, chronic paresthesia could be caused by medical conditions like diabetes, hyperventilation syndrome, neuron function problems, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), poor circulation, tumors, panic attacks and prior strokes. It’ll go away pretty quickly – and maybe it can remind you of all the important brain messages your nerves are usually transmitting without your even noticing. In fact, since it lasts for only a minute or two, you may not even remember it happened by the end of the day.

Most of the time, when your foot, or any other body part, falls asleep, it is temporary and nothing to worry about.Therefore, it is suggested that you visit a health care provider if you experience one or both of your feet falling asleep on a regular basis. Even though it’s not causing any permanent damage, you might still want to avoid the uncomfortable feeling that comes when your foot falls asleep. When the brain is unable to talk with a muscle or groups of muscles, some weird things can happen – including that part of your body getting that weird falling-asleep sensation. Such articles are not suitable for any (self-) diagnosis and treatment of individual illnesses and medical indications. I’m an exercise physiologist – a scientist who studies what happens to our bodies when we move and exercise.