Sometimes It's More Than Just a Bump on the Head

One of the common results of a car crash is a traumatic brain injury. The force of an impact in a car crash can cause a brain injury, even if you don't hit your head. It's not uncommon for the rebound to bruise the brain, causing symptoms that could include fogginess, dizziness, lack of concentration and more. The repercussions of a brain injury for a client and family can be severe.

In our office we see a fair number of brain injuries caused by car accidents. One of the symptoms of these injuries that we've noticed from time to time is sleep disorders - either sleeping too little or too much, or disturbed and broken sleep.

Now a study has been released that show that people who get less than six hours or more than nine hours of sleep per night have an increased risk of dying prematurely. That has been shown to apply to about 20 percent of the population in the United States and Britain. The study was conducted in Italy and published in the scientific journal Sleep, and reported that the relation between lack of sleep and illness is due to a series of hormonal and metabolic mechanisms. Oversleeping is more likely to be an effect of illness, rather than a cause, scientists who conducted the study said.

If in fact there is a link between sleep problems and poor health, it's all the more reason to get proper medical treatment. When doctors and medical specialists address the issue early - in the first weeks after the accident - the chances of recovery and a good outcome go up significantly.

This is another reason to not ignore or downplay a car crash. Even though you may not feel you've been hurt badly or you're sure that fuzzy-headed feeling will clear up soon, it's not worth taking chances.

We have a network of specialists who see injuries like this all the time. If you want more information on getting your injuries evaluated, give me a call.