Question about jet lag...

[eLiu]

Hey all,
I just got back from China...so I'm pretty jet-lagged right now. Anyhow, I was just sitting here and I thought of something I've always wondered about, but never bothered to ask anyone...

Soo, why is it that jet lag is worse when I come back from China, than when I go there? Like when I went there 2 weeks ago, it took me like a day or two to get fully adjusted. When I come back from china (speaking from past experiences), it takes me a good week to get adjusted. Why is there such a big difference?

Or am I just weird and no one else has this problem?

-Eric

 

[Regs]

It's all in your head. You just got back from a vacation!

 

[Balt]

Traveling east -> west is always easier (unless you are making a *really* long trip), because you only have to stay up several hours later than usual to get adjusted to the time change. That is a fairly easy thing for most people to do.

Going to bed hours earlier than usual, though (as in west -> east travel)? Bit more difficult for most people.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: Balt
Traveling east -> west is always easier (unless you are making a *really* long trip), because you only have to stay up several hours later than usual to get adjusted to the time change. That is a fairly easy thing for most people to do.

Going to bed hours earlier than usual, though (as in west -> east travel)? Bit more difficult for most people.

Hm intereting...never thought of it like that. I guess I'd been thinking somewhere along the lines of..."China is 12 hours ahead of me (US eastern), so it must be about the the same shift west->east or east->west." Oops 🙂