Why do people say you should not sleep after a brain injury?

Brain injuries can vary widely in severity. It is important to take every injury seriously. Even something like a mild concussion should not be overlooked. It is best to talk with medical professionals. This will help determine the best path forward for healing and recovery.

One thing you may have heard is that, during this time, people should avoid sleeping. Someone who suffered a concussion may be fatigued and just want to take a nap, but people will claim that this is dangerous and that they could pass away, develop a more serious condition or fall into a coma. But is that actually true?

Monitoring symptoms

This is not necessarily true, but the reason people say it is because it is impossible to monitor someone’s symptoms when they are asleep.

This is what makes sleeping problematic for someone who actually has a serious injury. For instance, there may be bleeding in or around the brain—which can occur with a subdural hematoma, for instance. If a person assumes they have a mild concussion and goes to sleep, no one notices as they develop other symptoms like dizziness, speech issues, sensory issues, loss of balance and more.

In other words, if someone goes to sleep, sleeping itself does not make a mild brain injury worse. Instead, the problem is that they may have had a more serious injury the entire time, but it is more difficult to monitor if they sleep. In reality, sleeping can be beneficial for healing, as long as someone is monitoring the person’s symptoms, and especially if they have already met with a medical professional to determine the true extent of the injury.

A brain injury can be a life-changing event. If you have been harmed due to someone else’s negligence, be sure you know how to seek financial compensation.