I am one of the strangest people I know because everything I’ve read says that time shifting from Europe to America should be easy as pie and going from America to Europe takes days.
The thing is, when I fly from America to Europe, the next morning I am on European time, but when I fly from Europe to America, it takes me at least two nights, if not longer, to convert to US time.
This trip has been especially difficult, which I can blame in part with to my apartment troubles. I’d actually come to America with a plan—get to Indy, get to my friend’s house, take a shower, eat a light meal, and go to bed relatively early. I knew that I would wake up early, but because I didn’t have early morning plans, I would lie in bed and drift for an hour or two.
Unfortunately while I fell asleep at 10pm and slept like a rock, when I woke up at 2:15 and shortly thereafter realized that I had about an hour to try and prevent the break-in back home.
To say that I was stressed might be an understatement and while everything has come out in the wash without any damage, I only got about an hour more sleep that morning, followed by another nap later in the morning.
While I did, ultimately, go to bed at a reasonable hour that evening, I still woke up in the middle of the night—and while I was relaxed enough to stay in bed and chill-out and doze for awhile until it was a reasonable time to get up, the residual jetlag stuck with me through Saturday—I didn’t get enough sleep Friday night and Saturday night I was about to fall asleep at the bar, so I left at 11pm and was completely knocked out before midnight.
I’m hoping that I’m now cured and on local time.
Only time will tell.
Ambien. Our jet lag cure, although you have considerable more travel experience than we do going back-and-forth between US/Europe.
I’m not sure drugs would help me — since I have (virtually) no problems transitioning from the US to Europe, which is a nighttime flight and where you would want Ambien.
The other direction I think taking drugs on the plane would only keep me up way too late Stateside. I actually transitioned pretty well on my trip to Colorado and Wyoming — so maybe I’d figured out the system. It’s just that on this trip I was a nervous wreck because of the apartment problems.
For me, the transition from the US to Europe was definitely easier, as well. Since I always have to get up so early for work anyway, waking up wasn’t really at much of a different time, especially if I slept in a bit. And going to the clubs was much easier since it was a much earlier time for my body, I could stay out and have fun later, whereas at home I would have been getting sleepy pretty easily. Of course, now I am getting too old to go out clubbing, so that probably won’t matter much anymore 🙂
Weird, I’ve heard exactly the opposite. But Europe to N. America is consistently easier for me. I always seem to arrive in the late afternoon/evening, have a nice dinner and hit the sack. I’ve also had good experience with “going Ambien(t)”, not on the plane but once I arrive and am ready to sleep for the night. They say to take it when you know you can zonk out for a good 8 hours, so I’d be hesitant to do that on the plane. Might be OK on a longer flight say to SFO.
The other direction is always tough. The worst is the flight that puts me in to Frankfurt at 7 am. After the gauntlet of customs and baggage, I have a 2.5 hour train ride ahead of me, and then the rest of the day to try to stay awake.