Science & Nature <\/p>\n
Many things go wrong when a human spends months alone in a dark cave. Time stills and the body\u2019s rhythms go awry. <\/span><\/p>\n Sleep withers to a few hours a night, and menstruation may come to a halt. Enthralling stories, like that of Spanish climber and cave-dweller Beatrice Flamini’s, shed light on what motivates someone to become a cave dweller.<\/span><\/p>\n On April 14, Flamini emerged from a cave in the country after spending a record 500 days isolated underground, save for a \u201ctechnical problem\u201d that forced her to <\/span>bivouac<\/span><\/a> for eight days on the surface, in a tent. Life underground had taken on its own rhythm of reading, drawing and knitting woolen hats, and taking care of her personal needs. She left her waste at a no-contact collection point and received food in return.<\/span><\/p>\n Released from her grotto, she first asked who would pay for a round of celebratory beers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was sleeping, or at least dozing, when they came down to get me,\u201d she told reporters, according to <\/span>The Guardian<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI thought something had happened. I said, \u2018Already? No way.\u2019 I hadn\u2019t finished my book.\u201d Like other record-breaking cave dwellers before her, she had read stacks and stacks, totaling to 60 books. Overall, she called cave life \u201cexcellent, unbeatable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Flamini’s GoPro videos share the downsides of living in isolation.<\/span><\/p>\nScience & Nature Flamini’s Life as a Cave Dweller<\/span><\/h2>\n
Science & Nature The Downside of Living in Isolation<\/span><\/h2>\n