Most people who have an ABI will feel tired a lot of the time. When you feel extremely tired, or get tired really easily, this is called ‘fatigue’.

After an ABI, the brain needs time to adjust. It is busy running the body and it also needs time to heal. Feeling tired is very normal if you have an ABI.

Fatigue can affect you in two main ways:

Mental fatigue: Is when we get tired from concentrating. We can’t pay attention to anything and learning and school work can become really difficult.

Physical fatigue: Is when we get tired from moving around. Even walking and brushing our teeth can make us feel tired.

Fatigue is really frustrating. Feeling tired can stop you from doing all the things you want to do.

When you are at home, you can take regular naps and rest for a while. When you start back at school, they expect you to stay awake the whole time and you can feel really tired.

Here are some things you might experience feeling tired:

• Effort: It seems like everything you do is a really hard
• You get tired quickly:  You feel tired much sooner than other people do
• Frustration: You get annoyed easily and maybe your behaviour changes
• Headaches: Headaches come back and you get stressed
• Easy things become hard:  Some people may get tired even brushing their teeth
• School work: School work becomes harder, you can’t do the work and seem to get things wrong even though you have tried your very best
• Walking:  Walking can become harder and you may start to have problems with ataxia  (feeling wobbly and unable to control your muscles).

Talking to your friends, family, keyworker, classroom assistant and teachers can help them understand why having an ABI can make you feel tired and they may be able to help.

Remember, feeling tired and fatigued after an ABI is perfectly normal. It can take a long time to start to have a normal sleep routine. Trying to establish your own bedtime routine can often help, see the tiredness section in coping with life for more tips on this.   

Talk to your doctor if it becomes a real problem for you. Life does not need to be miserable just because you feel tired.