Hey, want to have your day ruined? Well all you have to do is become suddenly very aware of your breathing. Either, you've gone totally zen and now inhabit a higher plane, or you're currently having difficulty remembering how exactly you usually breathe out and will soon turn a nice shade of blue. This is basically everyday life for people with primary alveolar hypoventilation or Ondine's Curse. For sufferers, it takes a conscious effort just to keep breathing as their body does not automatically respond to carbon dioxide build up in the same way as we do (i.e. by breathing). This means that when people with Ondine's Curse fall asleep, they stop breathing altogether. If they fancy surviving the night then they have to be hooked up to a ventilator before getting any shut-eye. For most of us, if we accidentally nod off on the bus, the worst that can happen is we miss our stop and have a bit of a walk, for Ondine's sufferers, it's a little bit worse. The name comes from a European folk tale that features a nymph called Ondine whose mortal lover promised that "every waking breath would be a testimony of love". Then the creep cheated on her and she cursed him to have to consciously focus on just staying alive, meaning that if he fell asleep, he would die. Lesson learnt, children, don't spurn immortal wood nymphs.
