JAPANESE SNAPSHOTS – #6 – THE JET LAG BLUES

The worst thing about traveling to Japan is the horrific jet lag.

I had never experienced this unpleasant disruption in one’s sleep patterns after any of my previous flights to Europe.  I’d land in, say, Glasgow, in the early morning after flying all night with little or no sleep, avoid taking a nap and just get with the local time program.  Then I’d go to bed around ten.  And while I might be a tad tired the following day, it really wasn’t a big deal and life went on pretty much as normal.

Yeah, that’s simply not happening when the time differential jumps from five hours to thirteen.  In Japan they are up and out when we are normally sleeping, and when it’s midnight in Japan, it’s a day later than in the States.  Time had been turned on its ear and my body clock could not get in sync with my new surroundings.  And this nasty phenomenon lasted for days on end, both coming and going.

I have been back now for six days, and last night was the first fairly good sleep I had since returning home to Maryland.

Here’s what happens.  When you arrive at your destination you get a pretty good night’s sleep because you have been traveling under a lot of stress for about twenty hours without sleeping, other than cat naps on the plane.  You are really tired.  So, you have a few drinks and you are out like a light.

It’s the next night when the trouble starts.  You go to sleep and at around three, you wake up.  And I’m not talking about tossing and turning awake.  You are WIDE AWAKE.  There isn’t a chance in hell you’re going back to sleep.  So, you get up, even though it’s the middle of the night.  You go for a walk.  You read a book.  Whatever.  The point is, you get about four hours sleep and now you have a full day ahead.  And this pattern repeats itself every night.  By day four you are walking around during the daytime hours like a goddamn zombie.

When I got home last Wednesday night the ordeal began anew, because by that time, my body clock was set to Japanese time.

So, anticipating what was coming on that second night, I got wasted on some fine Balvenie scotch while watching the World Series.  And I went right to sleep.   But at two, I awoke like it was 7, and I wasn’t getting back to sleep.

The third night I tried some Ambien prescribed by my doctor.  And with the same results.

The fourth night I tried some medical weed and scotch and slept until three.  Things were getting better.

 

The fifth night I was getting desperate, so I tried an Oxycontin.  That got me to four.

The sixth night, it was back to weed and I slept until five.  Things were finally getting back to normal.

And last night I went cold turkey and slept until six.  I can live with that.

So, you need to realize that jet lag is going to seriously kick your ass when the time differential gets to be about twelve hours, because you are essentially living a different day.  And anyone who tells you they know how to beat the clock is blowing smoke.  So, bring along a good long book.  Plan some nighttime walks in advance.  And just be ready for several nights and days as a cast member in “Night of the Living Dead”.