https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931900-400-this-man-spent-months-alone-underground-and-it-warped-his-mind/ Close Advertisement Skip to content Sign in Search the website [ ] [ ] * Events * Tours * Shop Subscribe now Explore by section * News * Features * Newsletters * Podcasts * Video * Comment * Culture * Games * | * This week's magazine Explore by subject * Health * Space * Physics * Technology * Environment * Mind * Humans * Life * Mathematics * Chemistry * Earth * Society Explore our products and services * Events * Tours * Shop Subscribe now Subscribe now Health This man spent months alone underground - and it warped his mind Michel Siffre's extraordinary self-experiments in a cave with no light would never be allowed now - but revealed strange truths about how we perceive time By Laura Spinney 8 August 2018 Michel Siffre in cave Michel Siffre lived underground three times, here in France in 2000 Philippe Desmazes/Getty IN JULY 1962, Michel Siffre took off his watch and descended into the abyss of Scarasson in the French Alps. There, in a cave 130 metres below the surface, he set up camp next to a glacier. With a torch as his only light source, and deprived of all reminders of the passage of time, he lived underground, alone, for 63 days. When he emerged, wearing goggles to protect his eyes from the sun, the world's press was waiting. Siffre was a geologist, but what he had originally planned as an expedition to study the glacier had become famous as something completely different: the first study of the human response to living with no information about time. Siffre was the first to show that our body might have its own clock. Since then, chronobiology has become a hugely important field of research. Now nearly 80, Siffre lives alone in a small apartment in Nice. It is so crammed with souvenirs, including giant fossil ammonites, that it resembles a cave itself. A ball of energy despite his age, he apologises for the disorder, although everything here, from the framed photos of his exploits to climbing equipment hung on the wall, demonstrates how this energy has been a defining feature of his life. As he shows me a tube of the electrode paste used on Apollo missions, he describes how the space race was his inspiration. Yuri Gagarin had just become the first man in space and the US and USSR wanted to know what effect long missions would... Advertisement Sign up to our weekly newsletter Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers. Sign up To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers Unlock this article or Existing subscribers Sign in to your account Advertisement More from New Scientist Explore the latest news, articles and features [SEI_279316656] Life Jellyfish sleep about as much as humans do - and nap like us too News Low on energy? A new understanding of rest could help revitalise you Health Low on energy? A new understanding of rest could help revitalise you Features Lichen: Image made using visible light (sun or Xenon flash), the two Environment How lab-grown lichen could help us to build habitations on Mars Features A revolutionary way to map our bodies is helping cure deadly diseases Health A revolutionary way to map our bodies is helping cure deadly diseases Features Popular articles Trending New Scientist articles 1 Early humans may have begun butchering elephants 1.8 million years ago 2 Chess can be made fairer by rearranging the pieces 3 Passwords will be on the way out in 2026 as passkeys take over 4 More than 100 moons were discovered in our own solar system in 2025 5 High-achieving adults rarely began as child prodigies 6 Low on energy? A new understanding of rest could help revitalise you 7 The first commercial space stations will start orbiting Earth in 2026 8 CAR T-cell therapy makes ageing guts heal themselves 9 Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again 10 Ghostly particles might just break our understanding of the universe Advertisement Piano End Banner Close Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop Close Download the app Download on the apple apps store Download on Google play Find us on social media * Find us on Instagram Instagram * Find us on Facebook Facebook * Find us on X / Twitter X / Twitter * Find us on Tiktok Tiktok * Find us on LinkedIn LinkedIn * Find us on BlueSky BlueSky Subscriptions * Subscriber benefits * Gift * Student & graduate * Educational * Corporate Support * Contact us * FAQs * About us * Press room * Advertise * Write for us Tools * Events * CoLab * Syndication * RSS feeds Legal and privacy * Complaint policy * Privacy policy * Cookie policy * Terms & conditions * Cookie Settings (c) Copyright New Scientist Ltd. Back to the top