After a collision, someone who normally woke before the alarm begins sleeping late and missing morning appointments. A later clinic note says “sleep problems,” but leaves out when the change began or how it affected the day. A useful record supplies those details while leaving diagnosis and treatment to the healthcare team.
The CDC identifies sleeping more, sleeping less and trouble falling asleep as possible concussion symptoms. Some symptoms become apparent hours or days after an injury. A change deserves medical attention even when the person cannot yet describe a consistent pattern.
Recognize an emergency before starting a log
After a head injury, call 911 or seek emergency care for danger signs such as an inability to wake, loss of consciousness, marked drowsiness, a worsening headache that does not resolve, repeated vomiting, seizures, weakness, slurred speech or new confusion. The CDC’s warning-sign guidance also includes unusual behavior and unequal pupils. Do not wait to collect enough diary entries when these signs appear.
For nonemergency symptoms, contact the treating provider and follow the discharge instructions. The CDC advises follow-up when concussion symptoms persist beyond two to three weeks or worsen with regular activity. That is not an instruction to delay an initial evaluation or wait through a concerning change.
Record a few useful details consistently
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s sleep diary is a starting point for tracking sleep, daytime sleepiness, medicines, caffeine and alcohol and discussing them with a doctor. Use the clinician’s preferred format if one is provided. The practical examples below show how to make entries specific without pretending to know more than you observed.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Use the arrow keys when the table is focused.
| What to record | Useful detail | Keep the limit clear |
|---|---|---|
| Nighttime pattern | Bedtime, estimated time asleep, remembered awakenings and wake time | Label estimates; do not invent exact times |
| Daytime sleep | Nap times and approximate length; occasions of unintended dozing | Identify whether the person or someone else observed it |
| Treatment and routine | Medication names and timing, treatment changes, shift changes and relevant daily habits | Record what happened without deciding what caused the symptom |
| Ordinary responsibilities | A missed appointment, shortened shift or task someone else completed | Save the appointment notice, schedule or other supporting record |
| Follow-up | Date the problem was reported, advice received and subsequent changes | Distinguish the clinician’s assessment from the patient’s account |
A useful entry might say: “Tuesday: in bed around 10:30 p.m.; awake twice that I remember; got up at 9:15 a.m.; missed the 8:30 appointment and called to reschedule.” It is more informative than “slept badly all week.” If an entry is added later from memory, label it with both the event date and the date you wrote it.
Include the sleep pattern before the injury
Look for earlier medical notes, work schedules and existing sleep-treatment records. Tell the clinician about prior insomnia, a diagnosed breathing disorder, earlier brain injuries and medications already in use. If the person worked rotating shifts, explain the rotation instead of comparing a night-shift week with an ordinary daytime schedule.
The TBI Model Systems sleep factsheet describes several possible contributors to sleep problems, including the injury itself, pain, medications, mood and breathing problems. Its guidance calls for a clinical history, medication review and individualized assessment. A sleep study may be appropriate for some patients; it is not required for everyone who reports poor sleep.
Sharing prior problems does not decide a legal claim against the injured person. It gives the medical analysis a baseline. The relevant question may concern a new problem, a worsening of an existing one, or several contributing causes. Keep the earlier records even when they complicate the account.
Bring observations and device records without diagnosing yourself
A partner can describe hearing snoring, seeing pauses in breathing or noticing that alarms no longer wake someone at the usual time. Record that person’s observations in their own terms. Ask the treating team what those observations warrant; a family member’s account is not a sleep-disorder diagnosis.
If an app or watch already contains sleep information, preserve the existing exports and identify the device, dates and any periods it was not worn. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine explains that wellness, screening and clinical technologies have different purposes and limitations. An app’s result should be discussed with a clinician rather than treated as proof of a diagnosis or of what caused it. There is no need to buy a device solely to create claim evidence.
The CDC also explains that a brain scan is not required to identify a mild TBI, although imaging may be used to investigate possible bleeding. A normal scan and a sleep log answer different questions. Neither should be given a broader meaning than the clinical evidence supports.
Show the course of recovery and the actual loss
Record improvement, a return to the earlier sleep pattern, and setbacks as they occur. Preserve updated work restrictions, attendance records and pay information if missed work is part of the claim. A diary entry about exhaustion does not establish the number of paid hours lost; the employment records help answer that separate question.
Ask for written guidance on returning to work or driving, and discuss medicines or sleep aids with the provider. Do not change prescribed treatment to make symptoms easier to document. The purpose of follow-up is appropriate care and an accurate account of what changed.
Our articles on longer-lasting TBI effects and proving a brain injury in court address the broader medical record. For a case review through our Baton Rouge brain injury practice, bring the treatment chronology, earlier sleep records, current observations and documents showing specific effects on daily responsibilities.
Sources checked: September 30, 2026.
This article provides general medical and legal information. Symptoms require clinical assessment; causation and recoverable losses depend on the individual evidence and applicable law.