A study of the relationship between participation in common leisure activities and seizure occurrence

Objective - To investigate whether participation in a structured programme of fairly intensive leisure activities increased seizure occurrence. Materi al and methods - 212 adults with medically-in tractable epilepsy were close ly monitored for seizure occurrence during an "activities day", i.e. a day consisting of various structured sessions of leisure pursuits (video game p lay, reading, ward puzzles, television, physical exercise), and during othe r days of relative rest, whilst undergoing prolonged video EEG monitoring. Results - The relative risk of seizures did not differ significantly during activities days [0.71 (95% CL: 0.38 to 1.33)] compared with days of relati ve rest. Conclusions These findings fail to provide empirical support for t he hypothesis that cognitive exertion has an adverse effect on seizure cont rol.