why do they say you shouldn't sleep if you have a concussion even though it's a myth?

Answer 1

I don't know who is telling you that, but it shouldn't be a medical person of this century! I work in a ER, and it's fine for people to sleep. If it was a significant injury, we do say someone should make sure they can wake them up every 2 hours. But, we never tell them they shouldn't sleep. That's for Hollywood!

Answer 2

Years and years ago doctors really did tell parents with a child who had had a blow to the head to keep them awake. That was the only way to assess their level of consciousness. With a concussion, there is always the threat of subdural hematoma (a slow leak of a blood vessel) which increases intracranial pressure. It was thought that if the person was and stayed awake there was no bleeding present.

Now we have CT scans, PET scans and MRI's to identify a bleed immediately. Hope that helps.

Answer 3

The reason one shouldn't sleep immediately afterward is so that they can be monitored for signs of a deeper injury. Neurological symptoms may not appear instantly, and if you are sleeping, these may go unnoticed. If the symptoms are unnoticed because you are sleeping, this could result in further brain injury, or even, death.

If you are admitted to a hospital, it is better to have you awake so that you can be observed and can communicate what is going on.