Unanswered

It's amazing that there are still parts that we have no clue or reason why they are that way in Haven. I ask and am told "we don't know" or "it's not our field" or "we're not sure with ROHHAD".

But we have constant sleep studies - and I guarantee her last one shows nothing! It was the best night sleep she's ever had.

I constantly ask - what can we do about her sleep walking - it's crazy. She is a crazy girl. So bad they caged her up at night in isolation - she even scared a few of the nurses with her screams and trying to jump out of her bed.

So I look and look - here's the best reason so far I can find or hear someone say:

WHAT CAUSES SLEEP INSTABILITY?

In chronic sleepwalkers, respiratory syndromes are the most frequently diagnosed accompanying disorders. As a result of the close relation between abnormal retention of carbon dioxide in the blood (a condition known as hypercapnia) and activation of neurons within the brain stem that control sleep and waking, an inability to breathe normally affects neural control of the progression through sleep. Specific respiratory syndromes, including upper airway resistance syndrome, mild obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep-disordered breathing, have been diagnosed as underlying causes of sleep instability. Through CAP analysis of chronic sleepwalkers, researchers have learned that the basic nREM instability accompanying the breathing disorder is present even on nights when no sleepwalking occurs. But the instability almost always completely vanishes when the respiratory problem is successfully treated, usually through the delivery of air to the upper respiratory tract through a specially designed mask (continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP), or through surgery.