It is widely thought that sleep deprivation can trigger seizures and that a lack of sleep can increase the intensity and length of seizures. Some forms of epilepsy are especially prone to sleep problems, and in some cases the very medication you are taking for your seizures may be the cause.
Some people may even have all of their seizures while sleeping, when falling asleep or waking up. So why does sleep, or a lack of it, have such an impact?
Dr. Rao, who has witnessed college students having seizures due to all-night cramming sessions, agrees that a lack of sleep can be a trigger for seizures. “No one knows the exact reason behind this,” says Dr. Rao, “but sleep is restorative. We spend one-third of our lives sleeping, so we know it’s important.”
Research has confirmed that a lack of sleep impacts how the brain functions. At UCLA and Tel Aviv University, they studied 12 people with epilepsy, using electrode implants to register the origin of their seizures. ”We were fascinated to observe how sleep deprivation dampened brain cell activity,” says lead study author Dr Yuval Nir.
He states that brain cells became “sluggish” and neural communication was negatively affected. “Unlike the usual rapid reaction,” he says, “the neurons responded slowly, fired more weakly, and their transmissions dragged on longer than usual.”
