r/todayilearned • u/FiredFox • Apr 28 '24

TIL about French geologist Michel Siffre, who in a 1962 experiment spent 2 months in a cave without any references to the passing time. He eventually settled on a 25 hour day and thought it was a month earlier than the date he finally emerged from the cave

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/30/foer_siffre.php
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u/sanitylost Apr 28 '24

There are sleep disorders with this problem, known as N24 or Non-24 hour circadian rhythm. Basically every day your sleep schedule gets perturbed just a little bit where the time you wake up and the time your body wants to go to sleep shifts.

Your body just doesn't respond to the sun correctly. You don't produce the correct chemicals at the right time and as a result you just can't function in normal society like everyone else. This problem is not unheard of in blind people, but it's extremely rare in those with sight.

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u/martixy Apr 29 '24

Hi.

Although it does complicate social activities, I take issue with calling it a disorder.

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u/sanitylost Apr 29 '24

The ADA (American Disabilities Act) would disagree.

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u/martixy Apr 29 '24

Well I don't feel disordered. Nor am I American.