The Long Jet Lag Quasi-Rant
Jan. 10th, 2008 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellefliesI've mentioned Jet Lag in passing before, a few words dropped here and there, maybe even a sentence or two. I'm pretty good at handling it although every time I gripe to a friend or family member about the trials and tribulations of getting back on a "normal sleep schedule" there seems to be quite a bit of laughter and finger pointing. Apparently my dear friends and family are under the impression that I haven't a clue what a "normal sleep schedule" is.
I got back from Abu Dhabi on the 6th of January. Today is the 10th and I still feel like I was run over by a herd of horses and then dragged through the mud after them. Sadly, this is not an unfamiliar feeling and can sometimes be used for great benefit.
My best Jet Lag Experience was Jerusalem by far, although The Azores isn't too far behind. I once wandered through Jerusalem with a friend after having been awake for well over 24 hours. It was fun. I enjoyed myself and the memories still make me smile. The fact that I experienced all of this through the sheen of severe exhaustion only makes that experience better in my opinion. I would almost equate it to walking through the city somewhat high - we were a bit more adventurous, a bit more outgoing, and it was easy to gloss over some of the more negative aspects of the Old City. Also, I would definitely say we found the humor in small things (Garbage Cat: I'm looking at you). I've been asked if I found Jerusalem to be safe. And honestly, I did. But the very thing that made us have such a great time in the Old City also should be taken with a grain of salt. We found it to be safe because we were too tired to dig deeper and look harder. It's easy to take things at face value when you're running on fumes.
Sadly most of my experiences with the beast known as Jet Lag are not nearly that pleasant. Generally speaking I'm capable of pulling out the stops and getting acclimated to a climate and time zone within a day of being there. It's all a matter of controlling how much you sleep. I have no control, generally speaking, over when I will arrive, but I can control when I sleep and how long I sleep. If I arrive in the morning and haven't slept a 3 hour nap will generally tide me over. I'll be tired for most of the day but at least when night rolls around and its actually time to sleep I won't find myself wide awake and bored to tears. If I arrive in the afternoon I usually just tough it out and go to bed a little earlier then normal.
This works for me. Its tried and tested but for some reason when I get home it sometimes falls to pieces.
These past 4 days have been a lesson in how much I have not mastered the art of conquering Jet Lag. I've been falling asleep at the most random times and waking up not able to go back to sleep even when tired. It's driving me a bit nuts.
Maybe it's because I'm home, I'm unfocused and don't have to deal with any upcoming trips (if only!) But this is the story of my life: constant Jet Lag.
For some reason it is also a feature of my life that everyone else seems to find highly amusing. Maybe because I always have stories about waking up in the middle of the afternoon, glancing at the clock and not being able to figure out why the sun is shining at 3:45. It is clearly supposed to be the dead of night at 3:45. The Morning/Afternoon/Night distinction tends to get lost on me after awhile. If only the U.S would switch to 24 hour time!
There are also the mid-afternoon phone calls. Oh to be the caller on the other end! I'm sure it must be amusing as I've come off somewhere incoherent at times. Everyone always asks "were you sleeping" and instead of just owning up to the fact that yes, I am severely jet lagged and exhausted I always go through the "oh no, just dozing. I needed to get up" excuse thing. I believe![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
regala_electra has experienced this one but I was kinda out of it so I'm not sure.
Alas. This seems to be my lot in life.
Maybe one day I'll actually reconcile myself to it.
And I think I need to go collapse now...
I got back from Abu Dhabi on the 6th of January. Today is the 10th and I still feel like I was run over by a herd of horses and then dragged through the mud after them. Sadly, this is not an unfamiliar feeling and can sometimes be used for great benefit.
My best Jet Lag Experience was Jerusalem by far, although The Azores isn't too far behind. I once wandered through Jerusalem with a friend after having been awake for well over 24 hours. It was fun. I enjoyed myself and the memories still make me smile. The fact that I experienced all of this through the sheen of severe exhaustion only makes that experience better in my opinion. I would almost equate it to walking through the city somewhat high - we were a bit more adventurous, a bit more outgoing, and it was easy to gloss over some of the more negative aspects of the Old City. Also, I would definitely say we found the humor in small things (Garbage Cat: I'm looking at you). I've been asked if I found Jerusalem to be safe. And honestly, I did. But the very thing that made us have such a great time in the Old City also should be taken with a grain of salt. We found it to be safe because we were too tired to dig deeper and look harder. It's easy to take things at face value when you're running on fumes.
Sadly most of my experiences with the beast known as Jet Lag are not nearly that pleasant. Generally speaking I'm capable of pulling out the stops and getting acclimated to a climate and time zone within a day of being there. It's all a matter of controlling how much you sleep. I have no control, generally speaking, over when I will arrive, but I can control when I sleep and how long I sleep. If I arrive in the morning and haven't slept a 3 hour nap will generally tide me over. I'll be tired for most of the day but at least when night rolls around and its actually time to sleep I won't find myself wide awake and bored to tears. If I arrive in the afternoon I usually just tough it out and go to bed a little earlier then normal.
This works for me. Its tried and tested but for some reason when I get home it sometimes falls to pieces.
These past 4 days have been a lesson in how much I have not mastered the art of conquering Jet Lag. I've been falling asleep at the most random times and waking up not able to go back to sleep even when tired. It's driving me a bit nuts.
Maybe it's because I'm home, I'm unfocused and don't have to deal with any upcoming trips (if only!) But this is the story of my life: constant Jet Lag.
For some reason it is also a feature of my life that everyone else seems to find highly amusing. Maybe because I always have stories about waking up in the middle of the afternoon, glancing at the clock and not being able to figure out why the sun is shining at 3:45. It is clearly supposed to be the dead of night at 3:45. The Morning/Afternoon/Night distinction tends to get lost on me after awhile. If only the U.S would switch to 24 hour time!
There are also the mid-afternoon phone calls. Oh to be the caller on the other end! I'm sure it must be amusing as I've come off somewhere incoherent at times. Everyone always asks "were you sleeping" and instead of just owning up to the fact that yes, I am severely jet lagged and exhausted I always go through the "oh no, just dozing. I needed to get up" excuse thing. I believe
regala_electra has experienced this one but I was kinda out of it so I'm not sure. Alas. This seems to be my lot in life.
Maybe one day I'll actually reconcile myself to it.
And I think I need to go collapse now...
