Gifting this Washington Post Article.
I do remember being exhilarated when I first went to Japan and was wide awake at 3 AM. Younger then. Not a fan now but I still try to make the most of it. and go with the flow. Even though it can be uncomfortable sometimes it can lead to a different perspective to upend our schedules.
Loved this. Thank you for sharing the article.
Lovely article! Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, I never get jet lag heading to Europe from the US. I am tired by the time I land, but that's because I can't sleep on the plane. However, I usually go to bed around 8 pm and wake up in the morning at my regular time, ready to go. However, heading back home is different as my jet lag will last up to 3 days. Maybe I should make more of an effort to get outside when I get home. :)
Mardee, my experience with jet lag is the same as yours. Part of it I believe is to be the adrenalin boost you get on arrival.
For Europe, I usually take the evening flight from SFO that arrives in the afternoon, often to London, for a few days. If I get a couple of hours of light sleep, I am grateful. I make a point of getting to the hotel to drop off bags, have a snack. (Scones and tea if in London), then head out for a walk, a park or natural space included, if possible. Then a light early dinner, relax a bit and sleep.
I wake up early the first few days but not too bad and am mostly good to go. Agree the excitement is probably part of the reason.
Returning is another story. Several days of being pretty spacy and more of feeling very tired. Is it jet lag or am I just very tired from travel? My wife and I are walkers and often average 8-10 miles and sometime more on our usually 4–7-week trips. We try and cut back but we just can't help ourselves as we find walking around very interesting and often find unexpected adventures.
Embrace it! I love watching a place wake up. We can wander endlessly in Venice at dawn, and lately I’ve grasped the early light for soft scenes in smaller villages. When I am awake at 2 AM, however, it is harder to enjoy.. I do get a lot of reading done.
Homeward bound I, too, suffer the 9 hour change from Europe to the West Coast. It’s an ugly week upon return. Thankfully I no longer have a pesky job dictating my days.
According to the Timeshifter app the biggest driver of resetting your circadian rhythm is sunlight at the correct time. Last spring I experienced bad jet lag in both directions which resulted in me having to nap every afternoon. My energy was low and it impacted my trip.
I used the Timeshifter app this trip. I arrived home yesterday and tried to follow the recommendations for when to get sun and when to shield my eyes from light for the recommended days before (had to start Tuesday for a Thursday flight), during and today. Today it recommended sunlight from 2-8 PM. I got some this afternoon so hopefully it was enough, lol. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow!
Thanks for gifting the article.
Good luck Pam. And thanks for the Tineshifter info .
Pam, I'm excited to hear how you're doing/feeling after having used the Timeshifter app!
Over the years, and many trips, we have come up with several ways to limit the effect of jet lag, but the biggest thing we have learned is to get lots of rest before leaving. The worst jetlag we had was after 3 days of running around, trying to get everything done before we left, running on little sleep, probably a little nervous or anxious about the trip, and getting out of our routine. When we got on the plane we were exhausted already, a sleepless flight, and an early AM arrival just piled on. But most times, we plow on, enjoy the exhaustion, lots of Sun, and relish that first night of sleep.
Thanks for gifting this! I agree with going with the flow on arrival day, including a nap.
