For those of us travelling from a different continent, coming back to Wageningen can be a dreadful experience. And I don’t mean that, because we had such a great time during the winter break, we loathe the thought of lectures, although that might certainly be the case for a bunch; or because we miss our families so much that we resent WUR from robbing us the pleasure of their company. Again, highly possible. It is actually the damn time difference that makes it so hard.
Doctors call it desynchronisis or circadian dysrhythmia, which they define as a physiological condition in which the body´s circadian rhythms get messed up as a result of rapid trans meridian travel. Circadian rhythms are the 24-hour cycles in the biochemical and physiological processes in our bodies. Whatever.
I call it jet lag and define it as a major pain in my rear, to say the least.
I viciously hate having to struggle with extreme tiredness all day, only to succumb to fatigue and fall asleep around 8 or 9 in the evening. I then wake up at 3 in the morning and have absolutely no idea what to do with my life at such an irrational hour. Unable to fall back asleep, the horrid cycle starts all over again.
There are some natural remedies that could theoretically speed-up the adaptation process. But to be honest, they are completely useless.
I read somewhere that it takes about one day to recover for every time zone that you have travelled through. I certainly hope that’s just one of those nonsensical facts, so common now a-days, because that would otherwise mean I still have to endure this ghastly situation for 7 more days. And lectures are just beginning.
There are some natural remedies that could theoretically speed-up the adaptation process. But to be honest, they are completely useless. They include things like exercising, drinking lots of water and avoiding too much caffeine. I mean, you’re supposed to do all those things even when you are not jet lagged, right? I guess there’s no other way but to suck it up and wait for your sleeping patterns to return to normal naturally.