Is it because typically during these long flights there is a a change in multiple time zones and that messes your circadian rythm?
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Yeah, a 20 hour train ride (unless someone built a super long high speed train) very likely takes you 2-3 time zones at most. It is possible to be a bit “time lagged” but since you also had 20 hours to adjust while sitting on the train, most people would probably recover quickly or not notice it at all.
Yes. It’s not the act of flying itself that gives you jet lag. It’s the rapid change in time zones that throws off your circadian rhythm.
It’s the combination of timezones and the rate at which you’re travelling. If you travel slowly enough, you’re constantly adjusting to the changes, but zooming at nearly 600mph for hours, you’re throwing your circadian rhythm out of whack.
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.
A jet lag is caused by the time zones, not by just sitting in a plane.
If you leave at 8am and 12 hours later it’s still 8 am and you need to stay awake the whole day, it’s a jet leg.
Trains don’t bring you to the other side of the world in 20 hours, 2/3 timezones at most
I think a large part of it is the decompression/compression cycle.
You can get jetlagged on a two hour north/south route.
You shouldn’t get jetlagged on flights where the window shades are shut and the cabin lighting is the same as your home time zone – but you do.
Imagine taking your flight in the morning. You’re on the jet all day. When you land you’re almost ready for bed. But it’s still morning.
“Jet” lag isn’t anything to do with the jet. It’s the change in time zone. Your body can’t instantly adjust to the new time so it is releasing sleep chemicals and hormones during the day, which makes you feel tired.
Trains are not as fast and not as direct, so your body doesn’t have to adjust as fast.
You can take an 8 hour flight from Tokyo to Sydney without jet lag because the time change is small.
I might be taking out of my rectum here, but my understanding of jetlag is:
Your body got used to waking up in tne morning, after some 12ish hours it’s dark and soon you go to sleep.
When you travel by plane (east or west from your location) that internal clock messes up since you were awake for 12 hours and you arrive to a destination and it’s still day, while your body is expecting night.
That’s just an example, works other way around too.
I haven’t experienced any jetlag when traveling (almost) straight south, since there are no changes in time, so I think my reasoning is correct or at least on a proper track
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