Healthy Lifestyle After Traumatic Brain Injury
A Consumer Digest of Model System Research:
What is the study about?
Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at an increased risk for developing chronic health conditions (i.e., diabetes, heart disease, hypertension). Because of this, it is especially important that individuals with TBI maintain a healthy lifestyle, which can be difficult given the everyday challenges associated with TBI. This article describes the key components of a healthy lifestyle for individuals with TBI, identifies the challenges of establishing healthy behaviors, and discusses the approaches for achieving those behaviors.
What did the study find?
Research evidence shows that individuals with TBI may benefit from engaging in healthy behaviors such as physical activity, stress management, and good sleep. However, evidence-based practices supporting these healthy behaviors following TBI are limited. In addition, caregiver input may be critical in developing and implementing interventions that support healthy behaviors in individuals with TBI.
Who participated in the study?
No study participants were required for this article.
How was the study conducted?
This article was a research-based narrative and did not use a formal research methodology.
How can people use the results?
Practitioners, individuals with TBI, and their families can use the information in this article to understand how their health behaviors might be affected after TBI and advocate for more research that supports healthy behaviors such as physical activity, stress management, and good sleep.
Reference
Driver, S., Juengst, S., Reynolds, M., Mcshan, E., Kew, C. L., Vega, M., . . . Dubiel, R. (2019). Healthy lifestyle after traumatic brain injury: A brief narrative. Brain Injury, 1-9. doi:10.1080/02699052.2019.1641623