Undoubtedly it's very important and recommended across the board by the specialists who know what they're talking about, but I'm wanting to know if failure to rest leads to permanent deficits in the healing process, rather than just delays.

The majority of sources I've found say that neglecting to rest will simply prolong recovery, but they're all pretty vague. I've also seen at least one site that said failure to rest would indeed lead to permanent damage that might not have been incurred otherwise.

So what's the general understanding here? If someone suffers a concussion and simply resumes their everyday life with stress, exercise, light exposure, study, television, video games, etc. Are they putting themselves at risk of never healing as optimally as they might have otherwise, or will they simply reach their maximum point of recovery after say, 4 months instead of 2 with proper rest?

I say why possibly take the chance on the most important organ in the body. The one that runs all the other ones. Just rest

Based on the experience of many who have posted here on NT, not resting will delay recovery until that time when one finally gives in and rests. The activity delays the start of recovery. I would be willing to suggest that the longer one pushes the limits, the greater the chance of some permanent symptoms. When the brain is under stress, it is under a chemical attack. The longer the chemical attack, the greater the risk of cellular damage. Plus, one can end up with severe depression and other psychiatric issues. PTSD comes to mind.

Thanks for responding guys. I ask because (as Mark may recall me mentioning) after my presumably severe concussion I wasn't diagnosed and thus regrettably didn't know to allow myself to rest, and i'm trying to understand just how much of an impact that may have had on the severity and prolonging of my condition.

For many of us, symptoms cause us to take it slower. If you had no trouble pushing ahead, it sounds like your symptoms were not as bad as many experience.

Trying to rehash the past is fruitless. You are where you are right now. Look forward, not back.