A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found that the people who are most likely to suffer a bunk bed related injury are children under 10 years of age and young adults between 18 and 21 years of age.

The study was based on the data gathered from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission between 1990 and 2005. It was discovered that half of the victims of the injuries were children under 6 years of age, while a third quarter of the cases analyzed involved children under 10 years of age.

The most interesting thing is the spike in the graph which means that persons between 18 and 21 are the third most probable to suffer this sort of injuries. Even though there is no conclusive information to lead to an explanation of the phenomenon, it is believed that the fact that young adults of this age are most likely to sleep in bunk beds in college dormitories or the military is the main cause of these injuries.

The most common bunk bed injuries are cuts, bruises and fractures. The last of the three are most likely to require a more extended medical attention. It was also found that children under 3 years of age tend to suffer injuries to their head because they have a higher center of gravity which makes them more likely to fall head first.

Preventing this sort of injuries is quite simple. People interested in buying a bunk bed for their children should make sure that the guardrails are placed on both sides of the upper bunk, and that the gaps between them are at most 3.5 inches wide. A proper source of lighting should be placed so that the ladder to the upper bunk could be seen all night long, and children under 6 years of age should be allowed to sleep in the lower bunk only.