Have you ever noticed that your hands begin to shake, when you feel anxious or stressed?
In fact, tremor is not a life-threatening condition, but it can
nevertheless interfere with your daily activities. It can be difficult
even to hold your cup of tea.
Trembling may occur in any part of your body. In the majority of cases it affects person’s hands and fingers.
Though hands shakiness is commonly a benign condition, associated with emotional stress and nervousness, it can be sometimes caused by underlying health problems.
Let’s see, what are the main reasons of the trembling in your hands:
#1. Essential tremor – it’s one of the most frequent types of tremor. It may start on the one side, and then spread to the second one, becoming worse with time. In vast majority of cases essential tremor affects older people. The reason is probably about slight degeneration of the cerebellum (brain area, which normally regulates motor movements). In this disorder your hands tremble, when you start to move.
Pay attention on your relatives. Maybe some of them have the same problem, as essential tremor usually runs in families.
#2. Parkinson’s disease – in this neurologic disorder shaking of the hands appears in rest and improves, when you move. Parkinson’s disease is a result of progressive damage of the brain structures, which are responsible for motions. Nobody knows exact causes of this trouble, but genetic predisposition was found to play a great role in it.
#3. Caffeine overdose – it is recommended to take no more than 400 mg of caffeine per day for adults. And it’s not only about coffee. This drug (yes, caffeine technically refers to the drugs) is also contained in soda, tea, energy drinks and even in dark chocolate. If taken more, than advised, caffeine can cause shakiness in your hands and fingers.
#4. Low blood glucose levels – your blood sugar levels may extremely drop, when you don’t eat for a long time, exercise vigorously or take high dose of diabetes medications. When your body doesn’t attain enough glucose, you may experience tremor in upper extremities, extreme fatigue, palpitations, tremendous hunger, dizziness and fainting. Doctors call this condition hypoglycemia.
#5. Hyperthyroidism – sometimes problems can occur in your body, leading to excessive production of thyroid hormones. Overactive thyroid gland causes hands trembling, tachycardia, nervousness, inexplicable weight loss and sleeplessness.
#6. Multiple sclerosis – this chronic disorder damages protective myelin sheath of the nerves, leading to tremor, numbness, muscle weakness, coordination difficulties and fatigue, which worsen with years.