She is known for being involved in a 1989 experiment on circadian rhythms, in which she voluntarily isolated herself for four months in an underground room thirty feet down a cave in Carlsbad, New Mexico, away from all outside indications of night and day.
Out of 20 candidates, Follini was chosen for the experiment because she possessed an "introspective nature" and "mental discipline".
[5] Inside her 20-by-12-foot (6.1 by 3.7 m) acrylic glass room, away from all cues to the normal 24-hour daily cycle, her biological clock drifted away from its regular rhythm to following first a 28-hour day,[5] and later on a 48-hour one.
Her only companions were her guitar,[6] a computer, two "friendly mice"[1] named Giuseppe and Nicoletta,[4] a few frogs,[5] and grasshoppers.
[7] Follini mostly fed on beans and rice, which partially resulted in her losing vitamin D.[4] She reported that at one point her menstrual cycle had stopped.