Concussions and Your iPod
ByI was listening to Norm Hitzges‘ show on 1310 The Ticket yesterday (a sports radio station in Dallas), and caught the end of a call-in by former Dallas Cowboys trainer Ken Locker.
The topic was concussions in high schoolers and how the teen and pre-teen brains actually don’t recuperate as well as an adult’s brain after a concussion. The real issue was with rushing high schoolers back onto the field or into normal life after they have a concussion, ignoring significant data that a lack of recovery can have serious ramifications on youngsters. One dad had actually written in and said that his football-playing high schooler complained most about not being able to focus for any extended period of time after his concussion.
In the discussion, Ken Locker said one of the key steps toward recovery is to get teens off the computer, off the iPods, off the texting. He said the brain literally needs time off during a concussion, and these media of constant interaction don’t allow for it, and it can seriously affect recovery. He even noted that recovery for teens wasn’t as big an issue twenty to thirty years ago because computer, iPods, phones, etc. weren’t around.
It got me thinking about everything we’re inundating our lives with. Yes, I absolutely love my iPhone, and it no doubt increases my productivity. And yes, I love all the tools the web has made available for us.
But is it possible that there’s a line where there’s diminishing returns on the productivity, and negative effects on many other areas of our lives? If concussions demand an iPod-less period of time, I have to think that it’s not a bad idea even without the concussion.
What do you think? Could you really, I mean really, do without some of your gadgets and touchpoints for a day? A week? Do you appreciate your mental well-being enough to give it a vacation?
3 Comments
March 24th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Great post and I thing you hit the nail on the head by bringing up the law of diminishing returns. It would almost have to apply. Though, it should be said, that the high school kid is a part of a generation that has been subjected to more marketing and constant info than any other in history. Even turning off the iPod may not be enough given all the other sources that are constants in their lives.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:43 am
Both my husband and I spend the entire day infront of a computer to find ourselves coming home and having something to ‘quickly’ do on the computer before we can make and serve supper. Its almost as if there is no upper limit with technology- you;ll never have enough and there is always something elso to do.
March 25th, 2009 at 4:38 am
M-Scott-Hay: Yeah, it’s really quite overwhelming to think just out inundated we are with little messages all day long. The funny thing is that the more we take in, the more immune we become to it, and at least for those using it to market, it’s working less and less.
Mara: I often find myself with a severe case of tired-head at the end of the day, and I know it’s simply because I’ve been pouring into and over my computer excessively for most of my 8 hours at the office. Yes, it’s productive, but it’s also fairly uninvolved physically, and it clearly has an effect.