Seasonal Epilepsy – Can Epilepsy Vary Throughout the Year?

Many people with epilepsy will tell you that seizure activity is rarely consistent, but neither are they random. Seizures often occur in clusters, whereby a person could go for weeks seizure-free, only to have multiple in the same week. It’s not just about the number of seizures either, it could be that they vary in severity or type. 

However, it’s also quite common to hear reports from people with epilepsy who experience seasonality in their seizure activity. For instance, a person may have more frequent seizures in the summer months than they do in the winter, or vice versa. The lunar cycle has also been associated with epilepsy for centuries, and many people with epilepsy do claim that their seizure activity follows these cycles, yet there has not been enough study to confirm or deny the connection. 

Seasonal factors for epilepsy

Epilepsy is so varied and one person’s experience may not be comparable to another’s. However, there are some common explanations for why a person with epilepsy may experience seasonality… 

Temperature induced seizures are far more likely to be experienced during the summer months during hot days. This could lead a person to feel that their epilepsy is seasonal in nature, which it is in a sense, but the reality is that they’re simply more exposed to a trigger for their seizure than they would be during autumn or winter. On the flip side of this, being cold can also trigger seizures in some people, which would lead them to being more prone during the winter season. 

Disruption of the sleeping cycle could be another potential reason for an increase in seizures. If a person was to struggle to sleep and maintain their sleeping cycle during the summer, it’s conceivable that this could lead to an increase in seizures. This could be particularly prevalent when the clocks change in October, for example and we enter daylight savings time. 

Some epilepsy studies have found that seizures are more prevalent in the winter months for many people. These studies hypothesise that the increased seizure activity may be due to fluctuations in vitamin D as people naturally get less sunlight in these months, which could be one reason for seasonality. 

Seasonality isn’t something that’s limited to epilepsy either, there are several other conditions that have been demonstrated to have some seasonal impact, such as strokes, cancer, migraines and schizophrenia. 

What should I do if I have seasonal epilepsy?

Having epilepsy is all about learning to control it to the best of your abilities. If you feel you are experiencing some seasonality in your seizure pattern then it’s important to try and understand this better and figure out what it is that’s triggering your seizures. 

Our first recommendation would be to ensure you’re keeping a seizure diary and keep detailed notes on your seizures. Make sure you mark down the dates and you can look back at your diaries to confirm whether there has been a seasonal cluster and also if there was anything common about those seizures, such as whether you felt overly warm or cold just beforehand. 

Make sure you discuss this seasonality with your healthcare professional or neurologist, they should be able to help with advice on how you can protect yourself more during these times. It might not require a change in treatment, but it could be a lifestyle change that’s needed or extra precautions that need to be taken during the months you experience a heightened risk of seizures.