Kim Gorgens Protecting the brain against concussion

Heads Up is specific to concussion in kids.

The definition of concussion doesn't actually require a loss of consciousness.

How do we know if he or she has sustained a concussion?

It started two years ago, when I hit my head and got a concussion.

Now, when the kid on the right doesn't get up, we know they've had a concussion.

But not everybody has a concussion, obviously, not everyone wants to be the slayer, so I renamed the game SuperBetter.

Now the concussion didn't heal properly, and after 30 days I was left with symptoms like nonstop headaches, nausea, vertigo, memory loss, mental fog.

And I wanted to bring these gamer traits to my real life challenge, so I created a role playing recovery game called Jane the Concussion Slayer.

In fact, more than four million people sustain a concussion every year, and these data are just among kids under 14 who were seen in emergency rooms.

And so when kids sustain a concussion, we talk about them getting dinged or getting their bell rung, but what is it that we're really talking about?

In a lively talk from TEDxDU, neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens makes the case for better protecting our brains against the risk of concussion with a compelling pitch for putting helmets on kids.

If, God forbid, any of us left here tonight and sustained a concussion, most of us would go on to fully recover inside of a couple hours to a couple of weeks.

When game designer Jane McGonigal found herself bedridden and suicidal following a severe concussion, she had a fascinating idea for how to get better. She dove into the scientific research and created the healing game, SuperBetter. In this moving talk, McGonigal explains how a game can boost resilience and promises to add 7.5 minutes to your life.