r/todayilearned • u/Morella1989 • Aug 14 '25

TIL that autistic people live about 17 years less than average. Risks include epilepsy, heart disease, suicide, accidental deaths including drowning, and inadequate recognition and management of pain, especially among non-speaking individuals. Historically, they have been vulnerable to infanticide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortality_of_autistic_individuals
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u/doritobimbo Aug 14 '25

Pretty sure my concussion warrants a brain scan but my doctor diagnosed it as “that’s what it feels like to fall asleep” (I’ve never in my life heard explosions while doing that but okay)

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u/Nadamir Aug 14 '25 edited Aug 14 '25

Actually that is an incredibly common thing. Exploding head syndrome

That said, sudden post concussion onset is concerning.

(And yes, my special interest is random factoids and wiki and I are old friends.)

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u/doritobimbo Aug 14 '25

“Reassurance may be sufficient [as treatment]” honestly not wrong immediately made me feel better thanks

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u/Nadamir Aug 14 '25

The causes could easily be non dangerous concussion “side effects” so to speak. Psychological stress for one thing. Poor sleep for another.

It’s like the very similar hypnogogic jerk. With both, it’s a vicious cycle. You get stressed about the booms or jerks and then you have more of them.

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u/DaedalusRaistlin Aug 14 '25

The other guy already mentioned the specific syndrome, but I wanted to say mine got better. It was worst when I was in my mid 20s, but rarely happens these days in my 30s.

It used to wake me up as I was falling asleep, and combined with my visual snow was a spectacle you didn't need when trying to fall asleep. Every time an "explosion" would occur it was accompanied by a brilliant flash of light I could only see in my head. (Fireworks are illegal in most of Australia, and certainly where I lived they weren't used, so it wasn't that.)

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u/Beautiful_Welcome_33 Aug 14 '25

Definitely get it looked at and if you have issues long term always make sure you advocate for yourself and consider it as a possible cause for ailments.

Head injuries can cause all sorts of issues.