How Hard Do You Have to Hit to Knock Yourself Out?
Knocking oneself out is not just a harmless amusement. Serious head injuries, including concussions and long-term brain damage, can result from such actions. It is advised to protect your head and seek help if you are considering self-harm.
The Risks of Self-Hitting
Severe brain damage can occur when you hit your head hard. Although the brain can sometimes recover from minor impacts, more significant injuries can lead to permanent damage. If you are seriously considering self-harm, please contact 988 for immediate support.
Physical Conditions and Force Required
To get knocked out, your brain has to either bang against the inside of your skull or be deprived of oxygen. In Olympic Tae Kwon Do, for instance, severe injuries often result from falls that cause concussions rather than direct hits to the head.
As a child, I experimented by hitting my head against a table a few times to show how bored I was in class. My vision, which was perfect, became slightly less perfect after that. The moral of the story is to avoid hitting your head on hard surfaces.
The force required to cause a concussion is typically between 60 to 80 Gs. To achieve a knock-out, the force needed is much higher, ranging from 100 to 200 Gs. Every brain is unique, and some can tolerate more impact than others.
Real-World Examples and Variability
It is possible to knock yourself out by hitting the right spot on your chin with a force of around 2 to 3 lbs. The bones in the head are surprisingly fragile, taking no more than 10 lbs of concentrated pressure to break. However, hitting yourself is not easy. For example, bending over in the dark and hitting your head on a bathroom counter might do the job, but I can only speak from personal experience in this scenario.
Why would you want to hit yourself to knock yourself out? The brain either gets rattled inside the skull or its blood supply is cut off. It's essential to understand that mass and velocity are not the only factors. Other variables like the strength of your neck muscles, whether you expected the blow, and where you were hit play a significant role. Additionally, conditions matter, making a difference in how a person reacts to the same amount of force.
For instance, the same person, hit three times with the same force, may say "ow," be knocked out, or be killed. Conditions like environment and context play a more significant role than physical attributes such as mass and velocity.
In conclusion, it is important to emphasize the risks associated with self-hitting and to take proactive measures to protect your head. If you are considering self-harm, please reach out for help immediately.