Sleep and epilepsy: opportunities for diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Sleep and epilepsy have a dynamic interaction that presents the clinician opportunities for diagnosis and treatment. Sleep complaints are very common in patients with epilepsy and these complaints may be related to the underlying epilepsy, the treatment of epilepsy or other sleep related issues. Appropriate treatment of epilepsy may improve sleep, and treatment of sleep disorders may reduce the frequency of recurrent seizures. Sleep and sleep deprivation may provoke seizures and can provide further diagnostic information about the seizure type and location. For the clinician, understanding the relationship of sleep and epilepsy expands the diagnostic and therapeutic armamentarium.