I did eventually make it home late Monday night. I had a 7:30 am meeting Tuesday morning, which wasn’t too bad because my body was still on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). I was even able to be productive the remainder of the morning. But, my brain was pretty gooey by the time 2:30 pm came around.
Tuesday morning I woke up at 6 am Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) which is the same as 9 am EDT. While on the east coast, I always woke up before 9 am and was still functional by the time 5:30 pm came around. So why did I feel so drained by mid-afternoon once I was back on the west coast? Everyone I spoke to blamed jet-lag. But, if I wasn’t wiped out by the equivalent time on the east coast, why was I feeling so spacey on the west coast?
I am not sure what it is about cross-country travel that produces such mind-numbing effects. Admittedly, the plane ride isn’t intellectually stimulating. However, I use the time in many of the same ways I spend my leisure time at home: reading, knitting and listening to public radio podcasts. At home, I often find myself energized by these activities. Why aren’t the same activities invigorating when done while traveling? What’s the difference?
I have a friend who travels about a gazillion miles a year (ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but she does travel a lot) and she has a theory about why travel is so exhausting. She thinks that moving through space, even while passive, is physically draining. Ergo, the further we go, the more we are physically taxed.
I thought about her theory during a recent drive down to California. We were in the car for 10 solid hours, but only traveled 630 miles. I didn’t do any of the driving so was a passive traveler the whole way. Yesterday we were in the air for only 5 or so hours, but traveled 2,800 miles. The pilot did all of the work, so once again, I was an entirely passive traveler.
After the trip to California, I was tired, but not unreasonably so. I was fine the next day. No effects from the long car trip except for some stiffness from sitting for so long. But, it isn’t really and apples to apples comparison because there was no time change.
This morning I seem to have reverted back to east coast time. I am was up at 4 am PDT and despite my best efforts, I was unable to fall back asleep. In some ways, getting up early was useful. I have a lot of work to catch up on, and there are very few interruptions that early in the morning. But, it is going to be a very long day, so I might change my tune come evening.