Sleep Deprivation and Epilepsy

A patient with epilepsy should “spend the day awake and the night asleep. If this habit be disturbed, it is not so good … worse of all when he sleeps neither night nor day.”—Hippocrates ( 1 ) This review summarizes the data for and against sleep deprivation as a facilitator of epileptic seizures and interictal epileptiform discharges. Much of these data are derived from clinical studies; however, basic science investigations are greatly needed to determine the influence of sleep deprivation on seizure susceptibility and neuronal function. Study of the effects of sleep deprivation on epilepsy may create a window of opportunity that could help decipher how seizures are triggered and facilitated, potentially providing an avenue for future interventions.