Our bodies may occasionally tremble, but if it interferes with daily activities, that’s a problem. Trembling of hands and feet is most noticeable. There are many causes of body tremors, including stress, hunger, excessive caffeine intake, low blood sugar, or illness. Some people can stop shaking with simple lifestyle changes, while others may need medical attention. Read on to learn what you can do to stop the shaking.
Relaxation
Take a deep breath. Excessive secretion of adrenaline can cause the body to tremble, the most obvious of which is trembling in the hands and feet. If you are shaking because of nervousness or fear, it is best to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system through deep breathing to relax and improve sleep. Take a few deep breaths to ease yourself into a more relaxed state.
- Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, and then exhale through your mouth.
- Take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. If possible, lie down on your back or side for a few minutes so that deep breathing can be more effective.
- You might as well try the 4-7-8 breathing method, which is to inhale through the nose for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 seconds, and then exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds.
Practice yoga or meditation. Stress and anxiety can cause or worsen shivering. Relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation can reduce stress and anxiety and help you stop shaking. Try taking a beginner’s yoga class or a meditation class to see if these methods can help you.
Research shows massage can help patients with essential tremors reduce their shivering symptoms. Essential tremor is a common movement disorder that causes persistent shaking of the hands, feet, and head. Study subjects experienced a decrease in shivering intensity after receiving a massage. Whether you’re shaking from stress or suffering from essential tremors, regular massage may help give you some relief. Give this method a try and see if it works for you.
Get enough sleep. If you have essential tremors, lack of sleep can cause tremors in your hands and feet or make the condition worse. Try to meet the sleep standards recommended by experts every night. Teenagers need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night, and adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
Adjust Your Lifestyle
Adjust food intake. Low blood sugar can cause tremors in the hands and feet, especially in people with diabetes. If you find yourself shaking and think it’s due to low blood sugar, eat or drink something sugary as soon as possible. Hypoglycemia needs to be treated as soon as possible or it can cause more serious consequences, including confusion, fainting, or seizures.
- Eating a hard candy, drinking some juice, or chewing glucose tablets can increase blood sugar levels.
- If the next meal is more than 30 minutes away, you can also eat sandwiches, cookies, and other snacks to satisfy your hunger.
Reduce caffeine intake. Drinking too many caffeinated drinks such as coffee, cola, energy drinks, tea, etc. can cause tremors in the body. It is safe for adults to consume no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day and for teenagers no more than 100 grams. Caffeine is completely prohibited for children. Everyone reacts differently to caffeine, and you might get shaky after just a small amount.
- If you don’t want to tremble due to caffeine, you need to reduce your caffeine intake. If you are allergic to caffeine, you should avoid it entirely.
- Reduce your caffeine intake by:
- Drink decaf or decaf coffee in the morning.
- Drink decaffeinated Coke.
- Don’t drink any caffeinated drinks after noon.
- Use tea instead of coffee.
Find out if nicotine is the cause of your tremors. Smoking can cause your hands to tremble because of the stimulant effect of nicotine. If you smoke, your trembling hands may be caused by smoking. Nicotine withdrawal can also cause tremors. So even if you recently quit smoking, you can still feel its effects. However, nicotine withdrawal symptoms usually peak two days after quitting smoking, and then gradually become less noticeable.
Think about how much you drink regularly. Some people find that drinking alcohol relieves shivering, but once the effects of the alcohol wear off, the shivering returns. Drinking too much alcohol regularly can even make shivering worse. If you shiver easily, it’s a good idea to drink less or stop drinking altogether to help your body stop shaking.
Think about recent changes in your lifestyle. Have you recently quit drinking or taking drugs? If so, the shaking may be a withdrawal symptom. If you have been dependent on alcohol or drugs for a long time, you should seek treatment during a period of recovery. Some people experience seizures, fever, and hallucinations during withdrawal. These serious complications can even be fatal.
- If you experience shaking during drug or alcohol withdrawal, be sure to seek medical attention immediately.
Ask your doctor about the side effects of your medications. Many medications have unwanted side effects, which may include tremors in the hands, arms, and/or head. This side effect is called drug-induced tremor. Cancer drugs, antidepressants, antibiotics, and inhalers used by people with asthma can all cause drug-induced tremors. If you have tremors that you think maybe a side effect of your medication, talk to your doctor about your options.
- Your doctor may change your dressing, adjust your dosage, or prescribe an additional medicine to help control your shivering.
- Do not stop taking medication without asking your doctor.
Ask your doctor to perform a physical examination to determine the cause of the shivering. Some serious medical conditions can cause shivering, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, and hyperthyroidism. If you have other symptoms or can’t figure out the cause of your shivering on your own, you should see your doctor as soon as possible. He can perform tests to identify the cause of the tremors and advise you on the best way to deal with it.
Tips
- Do you have a cold? Wear an extra sweatshirt or cover yourself with a blanket and see if the shaking stops.
- If you’re shaking all the time and everything you’ve tried doesn’t work, you’re probably sick.