• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Man spent months alone underground in a cave and it had an unbelievable effect on his body clock

Home> Science

Published 06:00 22 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Man spent months alone underground in a cave and it had an unbelievable effect on his body clock

He experienced time 'twice as slow'

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

One scientist went to extreme lengths to test how the absence of daylight affects humans.

In 1962, researcher Michel Siffre isolated himself in a cave to study how humans experience time when there are no external cues.

For two months, the scientist experienced life with no access to a clock, calendar, or the Sun.

Our circadian rhythms, or internal clocks, are roughly 24 hours long and are typically synchronised with the Earth's day-night cycle.

Advert

They are regulated by several factors (or zeitgebers), the main ones being daylight and temperature.

Without them, our 24-hour cycle actually shifts to a 25-hour pattern, so an hour longer than what people would experience normally.

PHILIPPE DESMAZES / Staff / Getty
PHILIPPE DESMAZES / Staff / Getty

Reflecting on his experiment, the French explorer explained: "This idea came to me - this idea that became the idea of my life. I decided to live like an animal, without a watch, in the dark, without knowing the time.

Advert

"Instead of studying caves, you ended up studying time. Yes, I invented a simple scientific protocol.

"I put a team at the entrance of the cave. I decided I would call them when I woke up, when I ate, and just before I went to sleep. My team didn’t have the right to call me, so that I wouldn’t have any idea what time it was on the outside."

Without light to guide him, Siffre experienced time in a radically different way.

To keep track, he monitored his pulse and performed 'psychological tests.'

Advert

He discovered that what felt like two minutes to him was actually five minutes in real time.

Essentially, he was experiencing everything twice as slow.

Patrick Durand / Contributor / Getty
Patrick Durand / Contributor / Getty

"I had to count from 1 to 120, at the rate of one digit per second," the 85-year-old described.

Advert

"With that test we made a great discovery: it took me five minutes to count to 120. In other words, I psychologically experienced five real minutes as though they were two."

In fact, by the time Siffre emerged from the cave, he thought he had a month left in the experiment, completely unaware of how much time had actually passed.

And you may wonder how Siffre kept himself occupied in the silence and darkness?

Well, unlike many of us who would've probably gone a bit crazy left with our minds for so long, the then-23-year-old spent his time productively by 'reading, writing and doing research', while also daydreaming about his future often.

Advert

Siffre's work has helped found the field of human chronobiology.

Featured Image Credit: PHILIPPE DESMAZES / Staff / Patrick Durand / Contributor / Getty
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
20 hours ago
22 hours ago
  • 2 hours ago

    How to set up emergency weather warnings on Android and iPhone following tragic Texas floods

    This comes after a tense questioning of the county sheriff about emergency alerts

    Science
  • 20 hours ago

    Scientists warn hundreds of dormant volcanoes could be on the brink of violent eruption

    It's all thanks to a worrying global trend

    Science
  • 22 hours ago

    One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World recovered from ocean floor after 2,000 years

    Scientists have made a major breakthrough in recovering and restoring the architectural behemoth

    Science
  • 22 hours ago

    Scientists make stunning discovery at Easter Island thought to be one of the most isolated places on Earth

    The island wasn't as isolated as we first thought

    Science
  • YouTuber reveals 'debilitating' effect of 2 months with no sunlight in the 'darkest place on Earth'
  • Astronaut who spent 152 days in space reveals the 'scariest' thing he had to do in orbit
  • The surprising side effect popular fizzy drink has on your body
  • The shocking effect long-haul flights can have on your body and what to do about it