Have you ever stayed up for a long time and found that your hand is shaking slightly or your fingers are twitching? Have there been days when you are doing overtime at work and that last cup of coffee is making you jittery and making your hands tremble? Don’t worry, you are not imagining the trembling. There are legitimate medical reasons as to why your hands may be shaking. They range from the mildest of reasons to the indication of a more severe ailment.
In some cases, a tremulous hand may be completely normal and is no cause for alarm. Even if the trembling is triggered by an unhealthy activity of some kind, it can be monitored and managed. The following are nine of the most common reasons your hands may be shaking and what you can do to make it stop.
Relax, It’s Only a Physiologic Tremor
If you woke up one day and noticed a hand tremor, the natural impulse is to be slightly concerned and wonder “why are my hands shaking?”.While the question is usually unsettling, the answer need not be. In all likelihood, what you are experiencing is only a physiologic tremor. Since you are a breathing human being with a beating heart, your body is never quite still.
The tremor you feel is from the natural vibration of the body and is present at all times. Sometimes, depending on various factors, the tremor is more visible than usual. For example, if you simply stretch your hand out for a few minutes, you will notice your hands are shaking slightly or your fingers are twitching. There is no cause to be alarmed as you are not alone in experiencing this. Every human being has a natural tremor which is usually not noticeable but is always there.
Low Blood Sugar
Low blood sugar is another reason why you may have a tremor. The brain and neurological center of the body are directly related to its stability. When the brain is not getting all the required nourishment and care, it manifests in different ways. If you develop tremulousness, it is the brain’s way of telling you that you are low on blood sugar. This is not the same as a physiologic tremor as a tremor from low sugar will typically also be accompanied by a bout of nervousness or fatigue. This is the body’s unambiguous signal that something needs to be done immediately.
The natural question is “how to stop my hands from shaking?”.
The best thing to do is to always keep a bag of sweets with you in case of such an emergency. These can be sweet biscuits, chocolate or a handful of candies. Pop one into your mouth immediately when you begin to see the symptoms of low blood sugar.
Caffeine and Other Substances
Often in case of excessive consumption of substances like caffeine and alcohol, the hand develops a tremor. Caffeine, alcohol and other substances like this tend to increase your heart rate. These are also stimulants that trigger your autonomic nervous system. When your autonomic nervous system is overstimulated, you tend to feel jittery.
If you notice a tremor, think about how many cups of coffee you have had in the day. Often, in the stress of the day, people end up consuming multiple cups of coffee to cope. But, by the time you reach that fourth cup of coffee, your body begins to throw out signals that perhaps you should stop.
Prolonged substance abuse can damage the cerebellum and cause hand tremors and other tics.
Overwhelming Emotions
If you are feeling an overwhelming surge of emotions, no matter what they are, your hands could develop a tremor. Whether you are feeling happy, sad, giddy with excitement or nervous, your hand can develop tremors as the autonomic nervous system is triggered with the surge of hormones.
If you notice your hands shaking before a big presentation and find yourself asking “Why are my hands shaking when nervous?”, this is a completely legitimate concern. Even when you are feeling emotions you feel every day, when it is in excess, those emotions encourage your autonomic nervous system to increase the physiological tremors you feel every day.
Whenever you feel threatened, nervous or excited, your sympathetic nervous system (a part of your autonomic nervous system) is triggered and sends a message to your adrenal glands to release epinephrine. In other words, the adrenal gland releases adrenaline into the body and prepares your body for any eventuality. This increases your heart rate, it may accelerate your breathing and even cause sweating or shaking. In psychological parlance, your body is going into “fight or flight” mode. You are prepared to either fight the situation at hand or escape it.
Whenever you feel nervous, excited or any other overwhelming emotion, your body triggers its emergency self-defense tools which could be why your hand feels a tremor.
Lack of Sleep
If you are sleep deprived, that is certainly not a good thing. While scientists are still trying to figure out why we sleep, what the medical community does know is that the body undergoes many processes when it is asleep. This is the time the body uses to rejuvenate and repair cells. Parts of your brain are also the most active at this time as the passing of several neurons happens when you are asleep.
When you do not get the recommended hours of sleep (7-9 hours for adults), the body is forced to stop all the functions it would have performed when you are asleep.
You will be putting your body through undue stress. When this happens, your body starts releasing more adrenaline to subsist on little or no sleep. This adrenaline is to help you stay awake and functional. You may have noticed when you have a big project due your body automatically cooperates and you do not fall asleep in the middle of your preparation even if you are tired.
However, when this happens you are also compelling your heart to work harder and extra. This elevated beating of the heart can cause tremors and your limbs to shake. The hand tremors are the least of your concerns if this has been triggered by sleep deprivation. If your body does not get sleep for a long time, it could result in several other health complications.
Side Effect to Medication
There are several medications that could also your hands to shake. This is an involuntary tremor that is induced by prescription drugs. At times the tremor does not get in the way of everyday life and is one of the milder side effects. At other times, the tremor may be a cause for concern if it is debilitating enough. The US National Library of Medicine has drawn up a list of medications that could cause these tremors.
This is not always a cause of concern and if you are in the know of tremors as a side effect, it will not bother you as much. But if the tremors are an unexpected side effect and are getting in the way of your everyday life and productivity, it may be advisable to stop the medication or switch to an alternative.
Essential Tremor
A hand tremor could also be a sign of a movement disorder. There are several common movement disorders that are prevalent and can be seen now with increasing frequency. Essential tremor is one of the most common of these movement disorders. An essential tremor occurs when you move causing you to not notice it initially. It can take some time to diagnose as the tremor gets hidden in the movement.
For this reason, it is sometimes known as “action” or “intention” tremor. If you notice that your hand is shaking when you try to pick up a cup or are writing a letter, there are chances you are experiencing an essential tremor. An essential tremor may not necessarily be a warning sign of a more severe illness but it can be debilitating enough in itself to warrant immediate intervention. An essential tremor can also be passed down hereditarily.
Parkinson’s Disease/Multiple Sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis are two diseases that could cause tremors in your hands. These are both serious illnesses that can greatly diminish one’s quality of life. Parkinson’s and MS both impact one’s nervous system and have symptoms that are triggered by this impact.
Parkinson’s is a disorder that gets progressively worse. Over time, the disorder causes brain cells to perish in the substantia nigra. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for producing dopamine and also has a huge role to play in general movement and balance of the body. If your hand tremors are triggered through Parkinson’s, they will be different from regular jitters or an essential tremor. Shaking associated with Parkinson’s is severe and affects everyday productivity.
MS is also a progressive disorder that can likely disable the patient. It is a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord (essentially the entire central nervous system). It causes the immune system to attack the protective sheath (or myelin) which covers the nerve fibers in the body.
This damage to the myelin disrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body. MS has several symptoms, including loss of vision, fatigue, spasms and tremors. In both these diseases, the symptoms can be controlled but there has so far been no cure.
Stress Shaking
While an earlier section speaks about hand tremors caused by a surge in emotions, the relationship between stress, anxiety and tremors is a more direct one. When you feel a panic attack coming on or are experiencing severe stress, the brain interprets that as your body being in imminent danger. As has been described above, this results in the body releasing epinephrine or adrenaline to prepare the body for any eventuality.
This is your fight or flight response and your body is preparing to protect you. With an increase in the adrenaline levels in the body, your heart rate tends to increase. You may feel short of breath and a nervous twitch in your limbs. Your hands shaking is a direct symptom of your body defending itself against stress. At the time the situation arises, different individuals resort to different coping mechanisms to manage a panic attack.
Note that not every stressful situation needs to lead to a panic attack but your body’s fight or flight response will still be triggered and you may feel a slight trembling of your hands and limbs. You may find relief from breathing deeply, drinking water or trying to distract yourself from the stressful trigger.
Conclusion
There are several reasons why your hands may be experiencing trembling. From the reasons that have been elaborated upon above, you can see that not all the reasons provided are causes for concern. Some of these triggers for trembling can be managed quite easily.
Perhaps you only need to hydrate more after several cups of coffee or need to get a good night’s sleep. In some cases, the trembling is chronic and could be a sign of a much more serious condition. When that happens, the trembling will also be more severe and you are unlikely to confuse it for a physiologic tremor or an essential tremor.
For example, if the tremor you are experiencing is because of an onset of Parkinson’s disease, the tremor will feel different from a physiologic tremor. In that case, you will need to intervene as soon as possible. A tremor is not always something that requires medical attention. There are measures you can take at home to make the shaking stop, as has been made clear above.
If you keep the caffeine intake low, do not abuse substances, try to get enough sleep every night, you will be able to not only avoid tremors but also maintain general health. So, pay attention to what your body is telling you and give it what it needs without putting it through undue stress.
