Stress and Lack of Sleep Can Cause Concussion-Like Symptoms, Study Shows

Key Takeaways

Many people may be going through life experiencing concussion-like symptoms—like headaches, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating—without ever suffering an injury.

In a new study, researchers found between 11% and 27% of college athletes with no history of recent concussions actually reported symptoms that met the criteria for post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Three factors were most likely to predict PCS-like symptoms: stress, lack of sleep, and existing mental health problems.

“Clinicians should consider both injury-related factors, as well as non-injury-related factors—like mental health history and sleep—in evaluating an athlete following a concussion,” lead author of the studyJaclyn Caccese, PhD, an assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, tells Verywell.

The research was commissioned to inform on concussion effects and recovery in student-athletes at colleges, universities, and military service academies. The findings were published in the journalSports Medicinein January.

What This Means for YouIf you or someone you know has recently suffered a concussion, it could help to receive an official diagnosis from a doctor. On the other hand, if you or someone you know suffered a concussion more than a month ago, but still feel like they are experiencing symptoms, it is important to sort out preexisting conditions and concussion-related symptoms with a medical health professional.

What This Means for You

If you or someone you know has recently suffered a concussion, it could help to receive an official diagnosis from a doctor. On the other hand, if you or someone you know suffered a concussion more than a month ago, but still feel like they are experiencing symptoms, it is important to sort out preexisting conditions and concussion-related symptoms with a medical health professional.

The Findings

To shed light on how to best diagnose and treat the immediate and reeling effects of a concussion, participants completed a diagnostic survey.

Over 12,000 military service academy cadets and 18,548 NCAA student-athletes responded to the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, third edition (SCAT3), which helps medical professionals diagnose concussion through screening for memory, balance, delayed recall, among otherconcussion symptoms. Demographic and family medical history data were also collected.

Researchers sought to sort out athletes' medical histories pre-concussion to evaluate how they affected post-concussion symptoms, if at all.

With no recently reported concussion, 17.8% of male cadets and 27.6% of female cadets, while 11.4% of male student-athletes and 20% of female student-athletes, all reported PCS-qualifying symptoms.

The data could serve to predict which individuals who haven’t experienced a recent concussion are most likely to report PCS-like symptoms. “Concussion symptoms are non-specific, and many things can mimic concussion-like symptoms,” Caccese says.

How Concussions Are Diagnosed

In both groups, sleep problems, previous migraines, and pre-existing psychiatric disorders were strong predictors of symptoms. More specifically, cadets struggled especially when they were having academic problems or were in their first year at the academy. For NCAA student-athletes, disorders such as ADHD or depression most often predicted PCS symptoms.

The findings may encourage increasing diagnostic tools' specificity, Caccese said in a press release. The research also highlights the need to treat patients and athletes dealing with head trauma in the context of their personal medical histories.For athletes, the tool can determine when they are allowed to hop back in the game.

“Because concussion symptoms are non-specific, evaluating someone long after a concussion, and asking them to self-report their symptoms at that time, and then attributing those symptoms to the remote injury can easily result in misdiagnosis,” Cacesse says.

Individualizing Care

Caccese’s research focuses on “the short- and long-term effects of repetitive head impacts in sports and sport-related concussion,” so being able to study those effects depends greatly on the clinician’s ability to diagnose the athlete.

Some symptoms commonly reported in association with concussions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include:

3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Caccese J, Iverson G, Hunzinger K, et al.Factors associated with symptom reporting in U.S. service academy cadets and NCAA student athletes without concussion: Findings from the CARE Consortium.Sports Med. 2021. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01415-4Ohio State News.Lack of Sleep, Stress Can Lead to Symptoms Resembling Concussion.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Concussion Signs and Symptoms.

3 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Caccese J, Iverson G, Hunzinger K, et al.Factors associated with symptom reporting in U.S. service academy cadets and NCAA student athletes without concussion: Findings from the CARE Consortium.Sports Med. 2021. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01415-4Ohio State News.Lack of Sleep, Stress Can Lead to Symptoms Resembling Concussion.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Concussion Signs and Symptoms.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Caccese J, Iverson G, Hunzinger K, et al.Factors associated with symptom reporting in U.S. service academy cadets and NCAA student athletes without concussion: Findings from the CARE Consortium.Sports Med. 2021. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01415-4Ohio State News.Lack of Sleep, Stress Can Lead to Symptoms Resembling Concussion.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Concussion Signs and Symptoms.

Caccese J, Iverson G, Hunzinger K, et al.Factors associated with symptom reporting in U.S. service academy cadets and NCAA student athletes without concussion: Findings from the CARE Consortium.Sports Med. 2021. doi:10.1007/s40279-020-01415-4

Ohio State News.Lack of Sleep, Stress Can Lead to Symptoms Resembling Concussion.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Concussion Signs and Symptoms.

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?