Can Stress Cause a Seizure? 7 Common Seizure Triggers to Know

Seizures can catch you off guard, but paying attention to certain patterns may help you feel more in control. If you or someone you love is living with epilepsy, learning to recognize common seizure triggers is one of the most powerful tools you have.

Triggers don’t cause epilepsy, but they can temporarily lower the brain’s seizure threshold, making a seizure more likely in someone already prone to them. While triggers vary from person to person, some are surprisingly common, from lack of sleep and missed medications to physical or emotional stress.

In this guide, we’ll walk through 7 common seizure triggers, explain how they affect the brain, and offer tips on how to manage them through awareness, lifestyle adjustments, and personalized care.

What Are Seizure Triggers and Why Do They Matter?

Seizure triggers aren’t causes in the traditional sense. Instead, they’re specific circumstances or factors that may increase the chances of a seizure happening in someone who already has epilepsy. Think of them as potential tipping points. Not every trigger will lead to a seizure every time, but they can make the brain more vulnerable under the right conditions.

It’s also important to know that triggers aren’t one-size-fits-all. What affects one person may not affect another at all. That’s why tracking your own patterns, through seizure diaries or observation, can be incredibly helpful over time to reduce seizure frequency or better manage them day to day.

7 Common Seizure Triggers

Everyone’s experience with epilepsy is different, but some seizure triggers tend to show up more often than others. What links them is their ability to influence brain activity, whether by disrupting sleep, affecting stress hormones, or overstimulating the nervous system. Even when you can’t feel it happening, these shifts can make the brain more susceptible to seizures. Here are some of the most common triggers to be aware of.

1. Stress and Anxiety

Can stress cause seizures? It turns out that stress can trigger them. Stress and anxiety can activate the body’s fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that increase brain activity and alter electrical signaling. In someone with epilepsy, this heightened state can make the brain more reactive, increasing the chances of a seizure.

Even seemingly small stressors,  like running late, missing a deadline, or arguing with a loved one, may add up. And because stress isn’t always easy to notice in the moment, it can be a trigger that’s overlooked until patterns start to emerge.

2. Missed Medication or Improper Dosage

Missing a dose of anti-seizure medication or taking it inconsistently is one of the most common reasons people with epilepsy experience breakthrough seizures. These medications work by helping stabilize electrical signals in the brain. If the medication level in your system drops too low, the brain may become more vulnerable to abnormal activity.

Even slight shifts in timing, dosage, or switching between generic and brand-name drugs can sometimes matter. That’s why it’s important to take medications exactly as prescribed and talk to your provider before making any changes.

3. Lack of Sleep or Fatigue

Most people know sleep is important for overall health, but when you have epilepsy, it plays an even bigger role. Sleep helps regulate the brain’s electrical signals, allowing neurons to fire in a more stable, organized pattern. When you’re sleep-deprived, those signals can become disorganized or overactive, which raises the risk of a seizure.

This makes poor sleep a common trigger, especially for teens, shift workers, or anyone dealing with disrupted routines. Even missing a few hours can make a difference, so building a consistent sleep schedule is often a key part of managing epilepsy.

4. Flashing Lights or Visual Stimuli

Many people have heard of flashing lights causing seizures, and it’s true. For those with photosensitive epilepsy, intense visual input can overstimulate parts of the brain responsible for processing light. That overstimulation can disrupt normal electrical activity and trigger a seizure.

Strobe lights and fast-paced video games are well-known culprits, but it’s not just flashing that can be an issue. Bright, contrasting patterns, rapidly changing colors, or even flickering sunlight through trees or blinds can also affect some individuals. If you’re sensitive to visual triggers, working with your care team to identify patterns and avoid known triggers can make a real difference.

5. Illness, Fever, or Infections

When your body is fighting off an illness, your brain can feel the effects too. Fevers, especially, can increase the brain’s temperature and disrupt normal electrical activity, a known seizure risk, particularly in young children. Even infections without fever can be taxing enough to lower your seizure threshold.

Certain illnesses can also impact how your body processes medications, making them less effective or changing how they interact. If you’re sick and have epilepsy, it’s a good idea to stay in touch with your neurologist, especially if you notice any changes in seizure frequency or severity.

6. Caffeine and Stimulants

Can caffeine trigger seizures? For some people, the answer is yes, but it depends. While caffeine isn’t a universal trigger, high amounts can overstimulate the nervous system, which may make a seizure more likely in sensitive individuals.

Everyone’s tolerance is different. A cup of coffee might be fine for one person but problematic for another, especially when combined with stress, lack of sleep, or certain medications. If you’ve noticed a pattern, it may be worth tracking your intake and discussing it with your care team.

7. Certain Medications or Drug Interactions

Some medications, even common ones, can unintentionally make seizures more likely. This includes certain over-the-counter drugs like antihistamines or cold medicines, as well as some antidepressants, pain relievers, and even herbal supplements. These can affect how the brain processes signals or interacts with seizure medications in ways that lower your threshold.

If you live with epilepsy, it’s important to review all medications (including non-prescription ones) with your neurologist. They can help you weigh the benefits and risks and make sure your treatment plan is as safe and effective as possible.

Tracking Triggers and Building a Seizure Action Plan

How to Keep a Seizure Diary

Understanding your unique seizure patterns starts with observation. Even if you’re not sure what’s triggering episodes, tracking key details over time can reveal helpful clues.

Start by keeping a seizure diary. You can use a notebook, spreadsheet, or a dedicated seizure tracking app like Seizure Tracker, Epsy, or My Seizure Diary from the Epilepsy Foundation. Try to log:

• Sleep habits (bedtime, wake time, interruptions)
• Stress levels or emotional changes
• Medication timing and any missed doses
• Diet, caffeine, and hydration
• Any warning signs, such as auras (strange sensations or feelings that sometimes happen before a seizure)

How to Build a Seizure Action Plan

Once patterns begin to emerge, this information becomes the foundation for a seizure action plan, a document that outlines what to do before, during, and after a seizure. Action plans are especially helpful for caregivers, coworkers, teachers, or anyone who may be present during an episode, so they can respond quickly and safely.

Your plan might include:

• What a seizure looks like for you
• Steps for helping during a seizure (e.g., time it, protect the person, don’t hold them down)
• Emergency contacts
• When to call 911
• Medications that may need to be given
  

Need a Seizure Action Plan?
Download our simple, printable form to share your triggers, safety steps, and emergency instructions with others.

Download the Action Plan

Concerned About Triggers? We Can Help

If you or someone you care about is experiencing seizures or you’re unsure what might be causing them, it’s important to talk with a specialist. At Brain & Spine Specialists, we help patients identify potential seizure triggers and develop personalized care plans for safety, treatment, and long-term management. You don’t have to navigate it alone.

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Looking for More Support?

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