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If you’re struggling with quarantine right now, you can seek advice from someone on how you survived a truly extreme confinement situation, such as an astronaut who was part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars500 simulation study.
Simulation missions are psychological experiments to learn how humans do in the space environment, without sending anyone into space. Especially for missions to Mars, which will require long travel times, a team will have to work together in difficult circumstances for more than a year, with little chance of getting away from each other or their tasks.
The Mars500 simulation mission, which started in 2007, was one of the best-known and longest running simulation studies, including three different teams of volunteers. It culminated in a 520-day mission with a six-man crew from Russia, France, Italy and China. They spent their time in a simulated spacecraft and had to go without sunlight, fresh food, or fresh air. So they learned a thing or two about isolation, just like the scientists who studied them.
He is one of these crew members, French engineer Romain Charles, who appears in the ESA video with advice on the surviving confinement. He gave nine tips for staying sane in tough environments:
- Remember that the situation is temporary. Things you want to do right now but can’t, you may very well be able to do later.
- Stay busy. It’s easy to get bored and lethargic in confinement, so keep yourself busy with reading, music, and other hobbies. Charles did things like improving his Russian with his Russian crewmates and getting his Chinese crewmate to teach him calligraphy.
- Live in the present. Taking one day at a time feels more manageable than thinking about long-term confinement.
- Maintain a regular day and night cycle. Humans respond very well to regular sleep cycles and very poorly to interrupted cycles. Try to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day.
- Be creative. Break the monotony by trying new things and having fun. Charles has delightful photos of the many different and increasingly ridiculous beard styles he attempted during his confinement.
- Stay in contact. You will feel much better if you have regular contact with family and friends.
- Waste energy. You need to burn off all that excess energy through exercise and activity.
- Communicate. When you are in a closed space with others, it is easy to let the tensions overflow. Communicate about your needs.
- Seek out unexpected rewards. Charles describes the absolute joy he experienced when he ate fresh food for the first time after delivery. The things he had taken for granted became incredibly precious to him.
Charles is not the only astronaut who has shared advice on this topic. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield also shared his advice recently.
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