While you're asleep, your heart rate drops and blood pressure falls.
Circulation slows — especially to your hands, the furthest point from your heart.
For 6-8 hours, your joints are starved of oxygen-rich blood. The fluid around your knuckles thickens. Stiffness builds up with nowhere to go.
By morning, your hands have been running on empty all night.
That's why:
✓ Hands feel worst first thing in the morning
✓ Warmth helps (but takes forever on its own)
✓ Stiffness improves as you move throughout the day
Your hands aren't broken. They've been starving for circulation overnight.