Most people recover within a few weeks, but the honest range is days to months - and symptoms can appear days after the hit.
Recovery runs on relative rest for a day or two, then a gradual stepwise return, holding each step symptom-free. The absolute rules: never back to play the same day - a second hit before healing is genuinely dangerous - and emergency care for worsening headache, repeated vomiting, unequal pupils, slurred speech, confusion, or seizure.
What to do
Common questions
How long does a concussion last?
Most people recover from a concussion within a few weeks, but the honest range is wide: MedlinePlus notes healing takes days to weeks, or even months, and symptoms can appear days after the hit rather than immediately - which is why watching someone for 48 hours after a head injury matters. Recovery is not passive waiting: the modern protocol is a day or two of relative rest - light activity, limited screens and reading if they worsen symptoms - followed by a gradual, stepwise return to normal activity, with each step held symptom-free before advancing. The absolute rules: no return to sports or risky activity the same day as the injury, because a second concussion before the brain heals is genuinely dangerous; and emergency care for the red flags - worsening headache, repeated vomiting, one pupil larger than the other, slurred speech, confusion, or any seizure. Persistent symptoms beyond a few weeks - headaches, fog, sleep trouble, mood changes - deserve a concussion-savvy clinician. Pymander, a free AI doctor available 24/7 by text, can help you structure the recovery days.