Vacations are the best!
We love being part of peoples vacations and occasionally get to host a guest from a really far flung place. During November of 2018 we had a guest stay with us from Japan. He was in Vernal to do some research on the dinosaur quarry. I am obviously a little biased, but I feel certain that Vernal is the best place there is to study dinosaurs
His flight from Japan was about 14 hours long. For those of our guests who are coming from that far away, beware of Jet Lag!!! This is a phenomenon that has only been an issue for the last 100 years or so. Prior to that, humans couldn’t travel far enough, fast enough to have it really mess them up. They would get exhausted from travel, but air travel is what is required to really bring on a beastly case of Jet Lag.
What Is Jet Lag?
Jet Lag occurs when your body’s normal sleep cycles are not in sync with the time in the area you have traveled to. A general rule of thumb is “West is best, East is a beast!” This is definitely not a hard and fast rule, but for most travelers going into the rising sun seems to cause more trouble than chasing the setting sun. Another non-scientific axiom is that it takes about a day per time zone you crossed to recover from Jet Lag. My own experience has never been that drastic, but I have had times when it has taken me 3 days to get functional again.
Sleep Cycles Linked to the Sun
By trying to time your arrival near the evening bed time in the new location, you can help yourself to cope with the beast. Your sleep cycles are linked to sunlight, and by getting as much sunlight as possible it will help your internal clock to get itself readjusted more quickly. Lights in a building don’t have the same effect as good old-fashioned sunlight. Some people claim that using melatonin supplements, a natural product your body produces to help it sleep, help them to recover faster.
While You’re Awake, Come Have Fun at Dinosaur Land.
Unfortunately, there really isn’t much that can be done but just be aware you may feel 9 kinds of exhausted at lunch time and wide awake at 3 am when you come to visit us from far off places. We promise that a visit to Dinosaur Land, Utah is well worth any jet lag that might come up!
