Does jet lag affect your mind (mentally)?

[Amy10223]

I know it can affect your body with feeling tired and synchronizing yourself to the present time, but can it also cause you to lose your mind a little? I got home yesterday. However, I left on a Wednesday morning from Japan and after 13 hours arrived Wednesday afternoon in my state. Since then I've been experiencing some memory issues. I think my mind is jet lagged too. I woke up today around 3:00am, and thought I was still in my hotel room. Upon looking around in the room which was still dark except for a nightlight, I realized I was home already. I still haven't unpacked and my bed has some souvenirs I've organized to family members, so I've been sleeping in the guest bed. This afternoon I fell asleep and didn't note the time I did--and woke up at 7:00pm, went to the bathroom of the guest bedroom (where I had fallen asleep) and suddenly wondered if I had missed my plane to come home. I wasn't sure what day it was (Thursday or Friday) and then wondered what day was it that I was supposed to come home. For about 5- 8 seconds I thought about this and asked myself if I had missed my plane to come home, when I realized---I was home already. Mind you I was groggy still from sleep. So, I was relieved to realize this and didn't have to rush to get ready for a plane trip. For me it is already Friday in my body---but it is Thursday evening at home. All I did today was get ny cat rom a cat sitter and bake some bread. I had "dinner" at 2:00. Has something like this happened to you? How long does it take to adjust to the time difference? Is this what they call "severe" jet lag--or am I losing my memory?

[juliaanita]

I go across 10 time zones (and sometimes more) very regularly-like four times/year, and jet lag has always accompanied me. I would say that your experience isn't out of the ordinary. I found myself forgetting what day and month it was. I've gone to the gym at midnight then home to have a wonderful breakfast at 0130! I make note also, at least for me, that crossing multiple time zones around and during my period can really do a number on my brain and body :)

The nice thing is that it passes. my rule of thumb is that full recovery and adaption to your current time zone takes about one day for every time zone you pass through. So, like 6 days for 6 time zones. I also know that if you are flying with the sun (like east to west) the jet lag is much much easier to contend with. I know that allowing myself to sleep as much as I want, and easy exercise during the daylight hours really helps. Also no alcohol until your body catches up.

So I wish you well in your travels and I hope this helps! :)

[Amy10223]

Thanks. I did have some wine around 2:00 today with lunch, so that didn't help. It is a bit scary for me--not the actual jet lag but thinking I had missed the plane coming home. I felt like I was losing my mind, especially looking at my surroundings and not realizing I am home already. I don't mind the other stuff, like the tiredness and waking up at strange hours. I think I'll be ok in about a week, I was away for 2 1/2 weeks.

[juliaanita]

Yep, the wine :) That's probably what I have done after flying about a 100 times! And it looks like you flew into the sun coming back, so that makes it much harder.

However Im also a RN and if your symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks go talk to your doc. But I don't think you are losing your mind. :)

[juliaanita]

THANK YOU for the MHO

[AviatorTom]

Amy, what you are experiencing is pretty much what I used to experience when I traveled back and forth between US and Hong Kong. It always took me a day to start feeling myself again, and a week to get over the time zone difference. My colleagues and I used to talk about it, and we decided, very unscientifically, that the combination of the time zone difference and breathing rarified air at lower pressure than normal for many hours (12+ hours US <> HK) caused our brains to slow down... until we got back on the ground, and breathed normal air at normal pressures.

[Amy10223]

It’s worrying for me. My memory of the present is tricky. I couldn’t remember my zip code yesterday.

[AviatorTom]

Any, it's okay if you know you don't remember your zip code. It would be worrying if you don't recognize your loss of memory. We all forget things. How many tines have you walked into a room and wondered why you were there? I did that yesterday. After walking back to the kitchen, I remembered I had to get my reading glasses in the bedroom... which is why I went there in the first place.

[Amy10223]

That’s happened to me. But oddly enough, when I do the intermittent fasting, it never happens. My memory and focusing is sharper.
When I eat sugar, I get that brain fog.

[AviatorTom]

Thanks for MHO

[jahaims]

Yeah

[eagle1951]

never had it