This is my fourth day back in Germany after a 11 day trip to the United States. I am suffering big-time! I didn't sleep last night at all, well, maybe two hours at the most and it was very light. Today, I feel like I was hit by a truck. They call this jet-lag. To be blunt: I feel like shit.
When traveling across a number of time zones, the body clock will be out of sync with the destination time, as it experiences daylight and darkness contrary to the rhythms to which it has grown accustomed: the body's natural pattern is upset, as the rhythms that dictate times for eating, sleeping, hormone regulation and body temperature variations no longer correspond to the environment nor to each other in some cases. To the degree that the body cannot immediately realign these rhythms, it is jet lagged.
The speed at which the body adjusts to the new schedule is individually determined. Thus, while it may take several days for some people to readjust to a new time zone, others seem to experience little disruption to their body's natural patterns. It is, however, not common to get jet lag from a crossing of only one or two time zones.
The condition is not linked to the length of flight, but to the transmeridian (i.e., east-west) distance traveled. Hence, a ten-hour flight between Frankfurt and Johannesburg, staying roughly on the same meridian, does not cause jet lag, while a five-hour flight between New York and Los Angeles may. Also, the International Date Line should not be confused as contributing to jet lag, as the maximum possible disruption is plus or minus 12 hours. A 20 hour time difference, for example, equals 4 hours of jet lag. Layovers can complicate this simple arithmetic, however.
The symptoms of jet lag can be quite varied and may include the following:
Loss of appetite, nausea, digestive problems
Headache, sinus irritation
Fatigue, irregular sleep patterns
Disorientation, grogginess, irritability
Mild depression
Yes, this is what jet lag looks like - face it.
And once again, the harsh reality of jet-lag. It's very real.
I know these are difficult to look at, but do you feel my pain now?? I pray to God that I can sleep tonight. I have to go back to work tomorrow.
Exploring Human Behavior and Death Anxiety Through Art
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