The Asian Hangover

I have often said it takes the same amount of days to get-over jet-lag as the total amount of hours in the time-difference between the two places. If you fly from NYC to London it will take 5 days to feel completely right, if you fly to Tokyo it takes 12 days. It gets better each day but your body isn't completely right until you've passed the amount of days as the difference in hours. Even flying from NY to LA has you messed up for 3 days.

But the international time-line adds another dimension, the Asian Hangover. See The Asian Hangover has nothing to do with sake, soju or snakes-blood, its the effect of flying back from Asia after a week of too much work, too much kimchee and too much booze.
Worse than any whiskey caused hangover is the 14 hour on a plane from across the other side of the earth hangover. Between the anxiety of travel mixed with the time-change and the dry air inside the plane it does something to your body which just isn't right. The day after the return flight I always feel the same, like the fat-guy from seat 8B is sitting on my brain while the old lady from 6A has taken her socks off right behind my eyeballs and the kid in 13D is screaming at the top of his lungs at a pitch only dogs should be able to hear.
I remember the first time I flew to Asia, it took me a week to not feel like somebody took a shotgun to my head. As I've made that journey for the fifth time, my body reacted a bit better even if I'm 14 years older than the first time I did it. It reacts better but it still isn't right.
But getting to Asia is tough but I am almost always so busy that there is no time to be tired and the excitement gets you through it. The issue is the return flight when you are already exhausted and your schedule is completely screwed and then you do it all over again, this is when your body most wants to quit.
I wonder if the plane flew back East over Russia and Europe and the Atlantic Ocean if the Asian Hangover effect could be reversed?


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry