I generally have worse jet lag going east to west, I think, but since I'm going home, it isn't as obvious since I don't have the rigorous schedule as when on vacation. I remember once flying from Egypt back home to Los Angeles, a very long trip with lots of time changes, and I physically got ill and was nauseous once I got home for a while. I think it was just all that change, not a bug.

Anyway, now I live in Washington DC so it's the usual 6-7 hours and I am kind of back to "normal" in one sense the day I get back. For example, if I get home around 3-6 pm, it is really close to midnight in Europe, but I don't have a desire to go to sleep and don't until maybe 10 pm. I go to work the next day as I don't get a lot of vacation and can't waste days just hanging out getting over a vacation.

Besides, I wake up early anyway after that, so why not go to work. That is the big thing, adjusting my sleep patterns. Last summer, I don't think I was really completely back to normal in sleep patterns for about 7 days, at least, but I was generally functioning okay.

At least a week.

I don't even notice jetlag anymore going from the East Coast to Europe. I guess I've just done it so many times, and I'm always so thrilled to be going, that I just work my way through the time difference and don't give it a thought.

Coming back from Europe I have a much harder time adjusting, but because I always want to maximize the number of vacation days, I rarely give myself a day to recuperate before going right back to work. I'm tired by mid-afternoon for about three days, and then I'm over it. The worst thing for me is dealing with the mail that piles up while I'm gone - most of it junk, but I have to at least glance at all of it.

From Austin to Europe, I find that the day after arrival I'm just fine. Actually, our last trip with my parents, I was so excited about having them with me that I didn't even take a nap the first day (of course, the espresso at lunch probably helped LOL!)

But coming back, yikes! I think the 8 hour or so time change really threw me off kilter for a good week. Kind of got tired of watching HSN at 3 am after awhile.

Glad you're back to normal again, mom!

When I come back from Europe, I'm fine the next day. I am also at work the next day. About 6 days later, I will feel a little tired, but it passes quickly.

When I get back it is 11 PM and time for bed. Therefor, I avoid sleeping on the plane so that I can sleep that night.

I am a mess for a week when I get back from Europe. Tired, can't concentrate, all the things that some others spoke of. I am usually ok the next day in the morning, then it is all down hill for several days.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Seems like a week or so is the "norm" and so is having more trouble flying east to west.

mom

My body adjusts in about a week. My mind takes longer ....

I do rather well on my second day when I go to Europe on vacation. It is rather hard to attend boring business meetings in the morning in Europe while your body thinks it should be sleeping. It usally takes me three days to do the full transition and be fully alert in the morning.

I probably would have a hard time staying awake during those droning meetings even if I was at home.... :D

I do not nap on the first day over and I stay awake on the first night back. Usually by the second day I am in synch.

Aggiemom, after all your medical adventures in France I think that it will take you a while to recover - not only from the jetlag but from all that stress and worry.

I have been to Europe 3 times w/o more than a day of jet lag....did one trip to Hong Kong and was TOAST for a week.
I am usually too excited to sleep on the plane and when I first arrive somewhere, but can usually sleep on the way home. I hate the day after a vacation; a mountain of laundry and no groceries and a big thrill checked off of my calendar.

I've sometimes been pretty scatter-brained for a day or so after coming back. Since I usually jump right back into work the day after arriving home, I'm probably not earning my keep that day.

Going to Europe, I'm usually ok right away. Except when going to Ireland and staying with family. Then, after sitting and visiting, I have been just suddenly wiped out and slept and slept. I think it helps to stay moving. Usually though, I'm worse after flying westbound. When we fly to Australia, I'm always pretty loopy the first couple of days. But we're usually staying at the in-law's house at first on those trips, so it's ok to be mellow anyway.

Have done the 21 hour flight, with one refulling stop at Singapore, from Melbourne, Australia to Europe (usually Frankfurt) about a dozen times. Don't seem to have any adverse reactions travelling in either direction.

Hmm..feel a little jetlag flying from the East Coast to Europe, though not enough to affect activities. Just a little bit of dragging. No problems coming home, east to west. Except being sorry the vacation is over, and wishing I had some time to savor those moments rather than ignoring them as I jump back into work.

But, I sometimes wonder if the west to east "dragging" feeling (gone after a day) is due to the night flight over? When I fly home, east to west, I generally am taking a morning daytime flight.

They say it take your body 1 day for every time zone hour change. I always find that the third day is the worst, especially around 3pm.

I think the biggest jet-lag factor is whether I'm flying TO vacation or coming home. At the start of my vacation, I'm psyched and ready to go, plans in hand, adrenaline flowing. When I get back home, there's unpacking, lonely complaining cats, a pile of laundry and another pile of mail, AND I have to get back into the domestic routines of grocery shopping and meal planning/prep. Aargh! :-(

I cherish my vacation days, so usually go to work the first day back -- I know there will be so many emails in my in-box that I can do a "low-profile" day just going through those and trying to get my head to catch up with my body! And as Jules said, best remedy is to start thinking about the next trip, even if it's far in the future...

I am a New Yorker in his late 60's. When I was younger it took one or two days to bounce back. Now it takes a full week. I now factor that in to my vacations allowing at least 3 or 4 days at home to recover.

Lately my trips have been to the UK and I hit the ground running once I land. The first night I usually go to bed quite early 7:00 or 8:00 but wake up early and then I'm good for the rest of the trip.

Coming home - I'm with Travgina - I think it's the vacation being over that's the worse part. It does take me a couple of days when flying east to west.

My husband is a total mess flying east to west - last trip was only a week long but took him the same time to get back into a routine.

I read that it takes the body 96 hours to recover from jetlag.

this post reminds me of this famous illustration....

http://www.tfaoi.com/am/8am/8am283.jpg

I find that my jet lag is always worse after I get home. Like LoveItaly, I am in a daze for a few days. I always feel a little "foggy", if that makes sense. I really start to feel more like myself about a week after I get home. My best friend always goes to work the day after we get back. I don't know how she does it. My sister is like me and needs a few days to bounce back.

Going to Europe is another story. I guess it does have to do with being excited to be on vacation. Even though I'm not good at sleeping on planes, I find that if I take a short nap when I arrive, and then stay up until after dinner, the next day I'm good to go.