What is Neurofatigue? How does it affect people with brain injury (TBI)?

[Music]
One of the topics that usually come up after an individual has a traumatic brain injury is this idea of neurofatigue. Some persons might call it brain fog, but really the term is it's a post-concussion syndrome or PCS. What exactly is this if we describe it in terms of a timeline most persons who have a traumatic brain injury they will recover within two weeks or symptoms will start to subside and so it's the symptoms that remain two months plus and what it feels like or how it's been described is that you're mentally exhausted or you have this overwhelming feeling of tiredness so again that physical tightness but you mentally feel trained it's important because it influences everything you do so the way you get dressed for the day you might be able to cook a meal or going out with friends but many times you're not recognizing this some of the areas that is particularly difficult around is saying that you don't feel like you're able to think clearly you're not able to concentrate or you're having a really hard time processing new information what do you do about it is that big question and I like to say think of yourself maybe like a cell phone so at night you recharge and so you will have the most energy in the morning one of his suggestions is that you try to pace yourself so in the morning if you know you have something important to do you kind of split it up in chunks to say I'm 100 ready I can get the important things out of the way what is important to do is not to push yourself too far and in that process trying to do the other things that are right for your body to heal and so this includes making sure that you get enough sleep to make you feel rested making sure that you're eating properly and exercising but the most important part in this process is recognizing that you're not exactly all the way where you were before the injury and giving yourself enough time to heal.
BrainLine is powered in part by Wounded Warrior Project, to honor and empower post-9/11 injured service members, veterans, and their families.