Is screen time recommended in children's concussion recovery? An expert weights in

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Some screen time is better than none during children's concussion recovery, Canadian study finds: The fast five

1. A new study suggests that while too much screen time can hinder children's concussion recovery, omitting screen time altogether is not the answer.

2. A health expert reveals her support for the study, calling it "super accurate."

3. According to the study, the more concussion patients hide their brains from stimulating things like screens, the longer it will take to recover.

4. As concussions are associated with mental health, it's important to give patients distractions, stimulus, and something to look forward to during recovery.

5. If your child is suffering from a concussion, moderate screen time (about four hours a day, spread out), is recommended.

So, what's the scoop?

In the past, doctors have recommended children avoid screen time or electronic devices after suffering a concussion.

However, a new study from the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary suggests that while too much screen time can hinder recovery, omitting screen time altogether is not the answer.

The study looked at more than 700 children aged eight to 16 in the first seven to 10 days following an injury.

The researchers followed up with the children and their caregivers over the a six month period to monitor their symptoms and progress.

In the end, the children who's concussion symptoms cleared up the quickest engaged in a moderate amount of screen time (approximately four hours a day, spread out).

"...It appears that spending too little or too much time on screens isn’t ideal for concussion recovery," said Dr. Molly Cairncross, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University who helped conduct the research. "Our findings show that the common recommendation to avoid smartphones, computers and televisions as much as possible may not be what’s best for kids."

Alternatively, children who engaged in low amounts of screen time (about two hours per day) as well as high amounts of screen time (about seven hours per day) were both associated with more severe symptoms in the first 30 days after injury. However, after 30 days the differences in recovery were insignificant.

An expert weighs in

Megan Lovell, a registered nurse at Victoria hospital in London, Ont., has an extensive history dealing with concussions and neurological injuries.

When asked her take on the study, the health expert was in full support.

"The new research is huge and super accurate. We used to tell patients to stay in your bedroom, with no lights and no stimulation, until all of your symptoms are gone. Which is great for a very minor concussion," Lovell told Yahoo Canada. "Past a day or two after injury, it's actually harmful to not introduce any activity, screens or stimulus."

According to Lovell, the more you hide your brain from things, the harder it is to recover.

"If you don't see light or screens for a month, it's going to take so much longer to get used to it again. This goes for children especially but also adults," she added. "Concussion patients find screens to be one of the biggest triggers, but if you never look at a screen for months it's going to take much longer to recover."

If your child or someone you know has a concussion, Lovell recommends introducing screen time at an incremental basis while monitoring the patient's symptoms.

"We introduce small exposures to screens with a green, yellow, red system. Green is when your symptoms are pretty good. But what you want to do is expose yourself to stimulus to get yourself into the yellow. Then rest to get yourself back into the green," Lovell explains. "Red is overexposure where you don't want to go."

Ultimately, the nurse says you have to gently push yourself until you start to feel your symptoms subside.

"You're not going to get better by not exposing yourself. So that's why the study says it can do a lot of harm to stay away from things," she added.

The impact of concussions on mental health

It's no secret that concussions are associated with mental health. And for children, they might not understand why they have to rest or what's happening to them in general.

"Kids can feel really isolated in concussion recovery. So being able to give them something they enjoy, or something for them to look forward to, can help patients recover," Lovell revealed.

Further, Cairncross says that without electronic devices, it can lead to "feelings of disconnection."

"Kids use smartphones and computers to stay connected with peers, so complete removal of those screens could lead to feelings of disconnection, loneliness and not having social support," Cairncross said. "Those things are likely to have a negative effect on kids' mental health and that can make recovery take longer."

When this negative effect is in order, Lovell adds that it can be hard on your brain when trying to recover.

"In recovery, your brain cells are working hard to fix your injury so they cannot also be focussed on your mood. When you give your brain cells something else to focus on that gives you joy, you're not focussed on the difficulty of recovery or your mental health as much," she explained. "Getting over that hurdle is a really important thing."

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