It is important to know which sleep state produces a person s seizures, as this would enable the correct treatment to be prescribed. However, increases in seizures in the second half of the night may be due to lowered serum levels of anti-epileptic drugs. Episodes involving sleep-walking, sleep terrors and urinary incontinence can be confused with epilepsy. Bed-wetting in people with epilepsy should be carefully investigated as, though it may be related to seizures, this should not be assumed. A sleep EEG could clarify whether epileptic activity is occurring.
Sleep deprivation appears to be a precipitating factor for seizures in some people with epilepsy.
The reason why this should be so is unclear. It may be due to neurochemical or hormonal changes or it is possible that the normal increase in protein synthesis that occurs in sleep may be impeded, thereby diminishing cellular repair mechanisms and rendering brain cells more open to epileptic activity. However, sleep deprivation may also be used by doctors to activate EEG abnormalities in patients when a diagnosis of epilepsy is unclear. In conclusion, people whose seizures are triggered by changes in sleep patterns should be advised to maintain reasonably regular hours of retiring and awakening, to obtain sufficient sleep, and to avoid shift work or other causes of disrupted sleep-waking rhythms. There is not need to exceed average hours of sleep to reduce the chances of seizures occurring.