Sleep and Epilepsy

There is a close relationship between epilepsy and sleep, with non-REM sleep facilitating and REM sleep inhibiting seizure activity. Circadian patterns of seizure occurrence are widely recognised, although the mechanisms underlying these patterns are not fully understood. Sleep stages impact epilepsy and circadian rhythms. It can be challenging to distinguish clinically between seizures and sleep-related events, such as parasomnia and microsleeps. There are features to help differentiate between these entities. Excessive daytime sleepiness and poor sleep are common complaints in people with epilepsy and need exploration.