At a glance
Take the medicine every day, on time
Missed or stopped doses are among the most common reasons seizures come back.
Protect your sleep
A short or broken night is one of the most consistent triggers.
Not every seizure has a reason
Many come with no trigger at all. That isn’t your fault.
The common triggers
Missed medicine, too little sleep, alcohol, illness with fever or vomiting, some other medicines, and for some women the menstrual cycle.
Missed or stopped medicine
Seizure medicines work by keeping a steady level in the blood. Missed doses, running out, or stopping because you feel well can bring seizures back, sometimes long ones. Phone alarms, a weekly pill box and refilling before you run out help more than willpower. Never stop or cut down without your doctor.
Too little sleep
Late nights, shift work, travel across time zones and exam weeks are classic. A steady bedtime and wake-up time matters more than the exact number of hours.
Alcohol
Heavy drinking, and especially the day after, when alcohol is wearing off, can set off seizures. Alcohol also disturbs sleep and makes missed doses more likely.
Illness
A fever, an infection, or vomiting and diarrhoea, which can stop the medicine being absorbed. If you vomit within an hour of a dose, ask your doctor or pharmacist what to do.
Other medicines
Some medicines can make seizures more likely or change the level of your seizure medicine. Examples include tramadol, bupropion and some antibiotics. Before starting anything new, including herbal products, tell the doctor or pharmacist that you have epilepsy.
Hormones
Some women notice seizures cluster around their period. A seizure diary that records the cycle can show this, and there are treatment options worth discussing.
Stress and skipped meals
Commonly reported, and both often travel with poor sleep. You don’t need a stress-free life; a steadier routine is usually enough.
Flashing lights and screens
Only around 3 in 100 people with epilepsy are sensitive to flashing light. For everyone else, screens are not a trigger, though late nights on them can be.
Photosensitive epilepsy is uncommon and usually starts in childhood or the teens. It shows up on an EEG when the technician uses a flashing light. If you are photosensitive: watch screens in a well-lit room from a distance, and cover one eye and look away if flashing starts.
If you aren’t photosensitive, there’s no need to avoid screens, games or cinemas.
Finding your own pattern
Write down each seizure with the time, the night’s sleep, missed doses and anything unusual. Look for repeats with your doctor.
For each seizure, note: the date and time, how long it lasted, sleep the night before, any missed dose, illness, alcohol, and for women the day of the cycle. Also note days when a suspected trigger happened with no seizure; that matters just as much.
Questions you can ask your doctor
Pick the ones that fit, then copy or print them.
Call an ambulance if a seizure lasts five minutes or more, or another starts before they wake.
Saudi Arabia: 997 ambulance, or 911 unified emergency number. UK 999 · US 911 · most of Europe 112.
- See your doctor soon if seizures are becoming more frequent, or look different from usual.
- See your doctor if you think a medicine is causing side effects; don’t stop it by yourself.
Medical sources
Epilepsy FoundationSeizure triggers. epilepsy.com/what-is-epilepsy/seizure-triggers
Common triggers and how to track them.
Epilepsy SocietyPhotosensitive epilepsy. epilepsysociety.org.uk
How common light sensitivity is, and practical precautions.
NICE · Guideline NG217 · 2022Epilepsies in children, young people and adults. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng217
Taking medicines regularly, and information for people with epilepsy.
What next?
- If you want to know what to do during a seizureSeizure first aid
- If you’re a woman taking seizure medicineEpilepsy medicines, contraception and pregnancy
- If you’re unsure what the words meanSeizure, epilepsy and status epilepticus
This page is for health education and does not replace your doctor’s advice or your own treatment plan. Found a mistake? Write to us: contact@thetract.org