Eli5: how can a 14-15 hours flight trip can make you feel jet lagged but even a long 20 hours train journey doesn’t have the same effect?

Question

Is it because typically during these long flights there is a a change in multiple time zones and that messes your circadian rythm?

In: 541

Answer 1

Imagine waking up at 6am to catch a 10am flight from Los Angeles to Sydney australia.The flight is 14 hours long so you should land at approximately 12am. But instead of 12am, you land at approximately 6am THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. So now you’ve actually lost a whole day due to time zones. Plus, you barely slept on the flight. And, it’s essentially the same time of day that you woke up to catch the original flight.

Now picture hopping on a train at 10am for a 20hr rrain ride. You settle into your seat and proceed about your business. When it gets nighttime, you get some rest (as best as you can) and wake up again in the morning. When you reach your destination at 6am the next day you’re ready to go.

The cool thing about your return flight from Sydney is, you leave at 10am and arrive in Los Angeles at 6am THE SAME DAY. You essentially landed before you took off due to time changes. You will most likely still feel jet lagged because of this though.