Is this jet lag or something else???

[longtimelurker0]

8 days ago, I returned from China to the US , after a 2 week vacation visiting family, to start my summer internship. Well unlike previous trips to China, where it usually takes me 2 or 3 nights to beat jet lag, this time, it's taking forever. The first 4 nights, I went to bed at 12am and wake up at 5am no matter how tired I get and avoiding any naps during the day. Tuesday night, I went to bed at 10pm and still woke up at 5am, but 7 hours of sleep was good enough and I felt normal at work on Wednesday. I went to bed at 10 again Wed night, but woke up at 2am without being able to fall back asleep. Thursday night, I slept from 10-5 and was fine all day Friday. And last night, I slept from 10-3 and here I am 4am typing this... I don't get what's going on and it's really affecting my work performance, I'm afraid giving my manager a not too good first impression of me. I thought I was almost done beating jet lag both Wednesday and Friday, but it seems I'm still waking up in the middle of the night every other night for the past 4 nights so far.

I've gone back to China the past 4 summers, and this is the first time I encountered any sleep issues upon returning. The 3 summers before though, I returned home from China whereas this time, I moved to my new apartment near my workplace. The bed seems pretty comfortable and I like my new apartment, but is it possible that there's something I don't know about in my new apartment that is affecting my sleep?

Also, how am I supposed to stay awake at work? I usually go to the bathroom stalls and put my head down, while I can't fall asleep there (it's too uncomfortable for me), I feel a little recharged after 20 minutes and lose the temptation to fall asleep at my desk upon returning. I never drank coffee before this but this week, I usually get a cup of coffee around noon at my company and I still feel sleepy in the afternoon. I don't think I could be tolerant to caffeine if I never drank coffee before but I don't think my company's coffee is having any affect on me at all. Does anyone have any tips on how to use caffeine to stay awake? Maybe Starbucks coffee is better?

 

[CavLancer]

I searched 'jet lag tips' and got lots of hits, might try that. I've had it myself but your case seems exceptional.

 

[warpus]

It usually takes me a while to get back into my usual sleep rhythm/schedule after a long flight, especially if it traverses many time zones. I would say it usually takes me at least a couple days and maybe even a week or longer?

Having said that, why not schedule an appointment with your doctor if this keeps up? It could be unrelated to your trip.

 

[longtimelurker0]

Any tips of how to use caffeine though? As far as I can tell, drinking a cup of coffee at work at noon doesn't prevent me from wanting to fall asleep in the afternoon. Is it not enough, or should I get coffee from Starbucks instead of my own company? And I never drank coffee before, and rarely have tea or anything really besides water.

 

[warpus]

Take 100mg of caffeine in the morning at 100mg right after lunch. Up dosage to 150mg if that's not enough, but consuming 400mg per day or more is not something you'd want to make a habit of. 600mg a day is what you're technically not supposed to go over, but taking such large amounts on a regular basis will just lead to more problems than it's worth - including potentially a harder time trying to fall asleep at night. Caffeine is capable of screwing with your sleep schedule and affecting your heart and other things.

 

[Hygro]

What are you non-work habits?

 

[CavLancer]

Over time the effect of coffee can become less. I'm in my 50s, a lifetime coffee drinker, and coffee doesn't give me much energy and I can be more tired after drinking a cup than before. Easy on the caffeine, I used coffee from habit and now I wish I had not. It would be nice to have that energy switch to turn on once in a while. Might be better to let your sleep/waking cycle switch on again naturally.

 

[KmDubya]

If drinking coffee is not working you should get some N0-doze caffeine pills, crush them to a powder and snort a few lines during work. It'll hit you a lot faster than drinking.

Or you could try to get more exercise and spend time outside in the sunlight to naturally help to reset your biorhythms to be in tune with your current timezone.

 

[sophie]

go see a doctor you dingus.