It has been many years since, as an undergraduate, I would occasionally overindulge in spiritus frumenti, aka alcoholic beverages. Nevertheless, I remember clearly how unpleasant a hangover felt. I spent a number of Saturdays or Sundays groaning about my muzzy head, "off" stomach, and general malaise, the results of low-grade alcohol poisoning.
At this point in my life, and for the last several decades, taking a second drink is extremely rare and a third is unheard of. However, I find I get the same set of symptoms from jet lag, don't you? This makes me wonder if the two experiences - hangover and jet lag - are related in some way.
Mind you, I'm not talking about the jet lag from crossing 1-3 time zones. Flying from the East Coast to the West Coast of North America, or vice versa, doesn't produce a lot of discomfort, nor does it last for more than a day. The big jet lag comes from crossing 5 or more time zones, say from the U.S. to Europe or the U.S. to Asia - that is when it gets miserable.
The other DrC has a theory that it takes X days to recover from jet lag, where X = Z - (2 + D). Z is the number of time zones crossed. D is directionality, with a value of +2 if going overseas and -2 if coming home.
Our experience on a lot of transoceanic flights suggests this isn't far wrong. The excitement of starting a trip helps us get over jet lag on the trip outward, and the lack thereof makes recovery more difficult after the homeward trip.
