Concussion can i sleep

The American Academy of Family Physicians states it is not necessary to keep a person awake after a head injury. If a person needs to be watched that closely, a doctor will most likely admit him or her to the hospital. The Dartmouth College of Sports Medicine advises that it is fine to go to sleep after a concussion so long as someone wakes you up every two hours. In a study in the September-October issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation , researchers reported greater levels of fatigue in people who have had head injuries, compared with those who have not.

The researchers concluded that regular rest breaks and increasing intervals of restful sleep should be a part of the rehabilitation from head injury. If you are around someone who has a head injury or possible concussion, monitor the symptoms closely. It is important to call a doctor or go to a hospital immediately if the person has worrisome symptoms such as:. When a head injury is serious enough to require medical care, a doctor will give you instructions on how to monitor and treat the injury once the person is released from the hospital or clinic.

These instructions will generally not include keeping the person awake and alert. Head injuries. Accessed November 5, Head injuries: what to watch for afterward. November 5, Head injury: concussion. Dartmouth College of Sports Medicine website. Radiology for traumatic brain injury. Accessed July 23, Subjective reports of fatigue during early recovery from traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.

How a concussion might affect your sleep. Other recovery tips. When to see a doctor. Read this next. Concussion Recovery Medically reviewed by Sachin S. Kapur, MD, MS. Head Injury. Medically reviewed by Seunggu Han, M. Skull Fractures. Head MRI. What Is a Choroid Plexus Cyst? Medically reviewed by Mia Armstrong, MD. Anterior deep temporal artery Medically reviewed by the Healthline Medical Network. Alice Alexander, a primary care doctor in our Internal Medicine Clinic, we now know that there is no need to make a patient with a concussion stay awake.

If the person who is injured is awake and holding a conversation, you can let him or her fall asleep as long as they are not developing any other symptoms such as dilated pupils or issues with walking.

Alexander says that a concussion is a head injury that sometimes involves loss of consciousness but is not associated with internal bleeding. Tips for better sleep after a concussion The following recommendations are intended to help your child sleep once they are past the first few days or weeks after a concussion.

Discuss the following tips with your child: Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Try going to bed around the same time every night and waking up around the same time every morning. Get enough sleep at night. School-aged children years need between 10 and 11 hours of sleep per night. Adolescents years require between 9 and 9.

Be sure that you are getting the amount of sleep your need at night. Have a consistent bedtime routine to help you relax each night before bed. This can include such things as taking a bath or shower before bedtime followed by a few minutes of reading. If you are not sleepy at bedtime, you can read a book, listen to soft music or do something else that is relaxing.