Measurement artifacts mimic alignment benefits

This proposed hypothesis asks whether adjusting daily timing can truly restore function after replacing only part of a tissue, a question relevant to preserving function with age. An apparent rescue could arise when testing occurs at a favorable body-clock phase, people learn the task, poor episodes are selected, challenges differ, or models are fitted after the fact. The proposed test randomizes and counterbalances episodes, matches challenge intensity, alternates cognitive tasks, samples physiology across the full cycle, retains every assigned episode, and tests models on held-out observations. If a clinically meaningful benefit disappears under these controls, measurement and selection artifacts would explain the apparent alignment effect.