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If I sit down cross-legged on the floor for any more than about ten minutes I start to get pins and needles, and this seems to be common among other adults I have spoken to.
My 3 year old daughter on the other hand can sit down in this way seemingly for as long as she likes without being affected by pins and needles.
Is there a reason for this?
Pins and needles (paraesthesia in the medical jargon) is caused by compression of nerves and is nothing to do with blood flow or circulation (other than the very small blood vessels supplying the nerves themselves).
Children’s tissues are more flexible and supple, and this means that the nerves are less likely to be impinged due to positioning. As we get older we get more solid and also more stiff and less flexible, meaning that relatively sensitive nerves are more easily annoyed.
There is some useful information here.
