Jet lag, medically referred to as desynchronosis, is a physiological condition which results from alterations to the body's circadian rhythms resulting from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east–west or west–east) travel on a jet airplane. It is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
The symptoms of jet lag can be quite varied, depending on the amount of time zone alteration, time of day and individual differences. They may include the following:[2]
- Headaches
- Fatigue, irregular sleep patterns, insomnia
- Disorientation, grogginess, irritability
- Mild depression
- Constipation or diarrhea
Source: Wikipedia
Yep, got 'em all. I lived through 5 days of a constant nagging headache, which only subsided to let the diarrhea start back up for a couple of days (and nights). Last night I fell into bed at 8:30 pm, exhausted, only to be wide awake at 11 pm. About 1 am I decided to take some Nyquil, which put me back to sleep. Until I woke up with a leg cramp. Don't see that on the list of symptoms, but I'm blaming it on jet lag anyway.
Last week I got into a shouting match with my boss, burst into tears twice, and shot off several pissy e-mails. So I took yesterday off - my last trip I took 2 days off. Which makes me irritable, because I have to waste valuable vacation time on a day where I barely leave the house anyway. Did I mention that irritability is one of the symptoms?
NASA estimates that west-to-east travel takes one day to recover for each time zone crossed. Brisbane is 15 hours ahead of us, so by their estimation I've only got 4 more days to endure this bitch. But I'm heading back to Australia April 7, so let the games begin all over again!
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