15 people locked up for 40 days in a closed cave with no light have just been rescued, but their feelings are surprising.

On March 14, there was an extremely controversial experiment being carried out in France. Specifically, an experiment under the $ 1.4 million Deep Time project, which required 15 volunteers to be locked in a dark cave with no sunlight, no watches, phones, and scissors. long within 40 days.

On April 24, the experiment officially ended. According to information recorded on social networking sites, the volunteers stepped out, beaming at the first sight for a long time. However, everyone must wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from sudden light changes.

And in the end, what happened?

Controversial experiment and surprising results

Group of 15 – 8 men and 7 women were brought into the Lombrives cave (Ariège, France), with the goal of exploring the limits of human adaptability in isolation without any concept of time space. Accordingly, the volunteers are not allowed to be exposed to the sun, do not phone or watch.

During the experiment, the volunteers said they slept in tents, taking turns cycling to store electricity for the only light bulb in the cave. There was a well there – the only source of water they had.

Because there is no Sun, the group has to depend on the body’s biological clock to know when to eat, sleep and personal activities. And not surprisingly, they soon lost their concept of time completely.

Christian Clot, project director and also directly involved in the experiment, said: “So the 40 days have passed. We were stunned, to be honest,” – He answered the interview. One of the group said they thought it had only been 23 days, showing what the concept of time had been completely turned upside down.

Johan Francois – math teacher who participated in the experiment shared that he had to run around the cave every 10km to stay healthy. But notably, he was motivated by the idea of ​​leaving this cave as soon as possible.

However, the candidates feel differently. Even up to two-thirds of the participants said they wanted to stay in the cave longer.

“It’s like for the first time in our life we ​​got to press the pause button,” – Marina Lançon, one of 7 women participating in the experiment shared. “The first time, we have time to stop all work and get back to ourselves. It was really cool.”

However, Lançon also admitted that she felt happy being out again, and heard birds singing from the ground.

It is known that the Deep Time project was implemented by French and Swiss scientists from the Human Adaptation Institute. They followed the candidates meticulously during their time in the cave using the sensors. As a result, they can see their sleep schedule, interactivity and change in perception. In addition, the candidates’ brain activity was collected before entering the cave.

According to experts, this project aims to explore human adaptability under strict conditions, completely isolated from the outside world.

“The future of mankind will be evolution,” – Clot said. “We have to learn to understand how the brain works, and to come up with new solutions in all circumstances.”