Escape Below: A Journey into Sleep, Moods, and Timing

Lynne Peeples, a science journalist, dove 50 feet underground for ten days to investigate how humans adapt without natural light cues. She chose an Arkansas Airbnb that was once a Cold War bunker to explore how factors like meal times and light affect sleep patterns. Peeples made the bunker sunlight-free and hid all time indicators, creating a controlled environment to study internal body clocks. Life in the bunker started with Peeples following a regular schedule – she'd eat at similar times each day and sleep at night. However, a few days in, she faced significant challenges. Peeples experienced severe temporal confusion, describing it as major jet lag, causing her sleep-wake schedule to flip. She started eating and sleeping during the time when people above ground were active. The lack of natural cues exacted a toll. Peeples felt moody, had trouble regulating her temperature, and her thinking became foggy. Her internal clock was all out of sync, making daily tasks more difficult. "It's one thing to know it theoretically, but feeling it was quite something else, " she noted. These observations underline how crucial natural light is to our internal clocks. Without it, maintaining a stable routine can be very challenging.