The Final Frontier: Jetlag
The first thing I did when I got home was take a hot shower. I called my parents but other than that wanted to be left alone to decompress. I was just too wiped out to go into conversation; too wiped out to go anywhere; and too wiped out to even eat.
I attempted to stay up to write and unpack but lost the battle after about two hours. I felt sick with sleep -- a bit nauseated and drunk with fatigue. The jet lag was compounded by the serious sleep debt accumulated while in Africa. So instead of trying to adjust by staying up until bedtime in my current time zone, I didn't fight it and slept the rest of the night.
Experts say sleep problems tend to be more common when people travel from west to east as it is more difficult to advance than to delay sleep time. However, for me, I am hardest hit traveling from east to west. I saw a story about jet lag on CNN as I was packing up in my hotel room on my last day in Tanzania.
The expert said that for every hour of time difference you travel, it takes that number of days to recover from jetlag. My track record has been the number of days I am away is the number of days it requires to recover. So I anticipate it will take me at least a week and a half to get back to a normal sleep schedule.
My first full day back, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. (early by my standards). By 7 a.m I had suited up to work out, made a light breakfast, and watched some news. By 9 a.m., I got hit again with uncontrollable sleep (before I got to the gym). I woke up around 11:30 a.m., still moving like a zombie. By this point, I was famished and mustered up enough energy to eat and get some groceries for my bare pantry -- and of course take my Malarone.
I had given up on the dream of making it to the gym. By 4:30 p.m., I felt the urge to crawl back in bed where I fielded a few calls. I vaguely remember my dad calling; I think I fell asleep on him. By 6 p.m. I was out like a light and nothing could rouse me. My bed has never felt so good! I slept through a series of other calls. I felt like a brick wall was laying on my body, leaving it immobile, and the sleep mimiced the heavy, good sleep that you get while under anesthesia (this would continue for another week or so).
Some tips to help with jet lag include: Avoiding excess caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco; avoiding social isolation; practicing good sleep habits right away; taking a one-hour walk first thing in the morning; limiting sleep to no more than two hours immediately after arrival; drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration; and controlling naps while in flight to your destination.
Melatonin has worked for some people but not for me in the past. Melatonin is a hormone the body naturally produces at night and is thought to help initiate sleep. Melatonin supplements have been available in health food stores for quite awhile, but they are not FDA-approved, so their purity and safety are not known. A recent study from the University of Alberta has shown that melatonin supplements may not actually be as effective as once thought.
Related Topics: Summer Travel, Tips for the International Traveler
Technorati Tags: jet lag, travel tips
I attempted to stay up to write and unpack but lost the battle after about two hours. I felt sick with sleep -- a bit nauseated and drunk with fatigue. The jet lag was compounded by the serious sleep debt accumulated while in Africa. So instead of trying to adjust by staying up until bedtime in my current time zone, I didn't fight it and slept the rest of the night.
Experts say sleep problems tend to be more common when people travel from west to east as it is more difficult to advance than to delay sleep time. However, for me, I am hardest hit traveling from east to west. I saw a story about jet lag on CNN as I was packing up in my hotel room on my last day in Tanzania.
The expert said that for every hour of time difference you travel, it takes that number of days to recover from jetlag. My track record has been the number of days I am away is the number of days it requires to recover. So I anticipate it will take me at least a week and a half to get back to a normal sleep schedule.
My first full day back, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. (early by my standards). By 7 a.m I had suited up to work out, made a light breakfast, and watched some news. By 9 a.m., I got hit again with uncontrollable sleep (before I got to the gym). I woke up around 11:30 a.m., still moving like a zombie. By this point, I was famished and mustered up enough energy to eat and get some groceries for my bare pantry -- and of course take my Malarone.
I had given up on the dream of making it to the gym. By 4:30 p.m., I felt the urge to crawl back in bed where I fielded a few calls. I vaguely remember my dad calling; I think I fell asleep on him. By 6 p.m. I was out like a light and nothing could rouse me. My bed has never felt so good! I slept through a series of other calls. I felt like a brick wall was laying on my body, leaving it immobile, and the sleep mimiced the heavy, good sleep that you get while under anesthesia (this would continue for another week or so).
Some tips to help with jet lag include: Avoiding excess caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco; avoiding social isolation; practicing good sleep habits right away; taking a one-hour walk first thing in the morning; limiting sleep to no more than two hours immediately after arrival; drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration; and controlling naps while in flight to your destination.
Melatonin has worked for some people but not for me in the past. Melatonin is a hormone the body naturally produces at night and is thought to help initiate sleep. Melatonin supplements have been available in health food stores for quite awhile, but they are not FDA-approved, so their purity and safety are not known. A recent study from the University of Alberta has shown that melatonin supplements may not actually be as effective as once thought.
Related Topics: Summer Travel, Tips for the International Traveler
Technorati Tags: jet lag, travel tips
1 Comments:
HIV is a problem especially here in the states where people are having sex with more than one partner at a time. Did you know that you are presently in dangerous territory with the affair you continue to be involved in? Why would you do this to yourself when you know better? Why endanger yourself and others this way? Think. Pray. Ask for help.
Post a Comment