Sleep

Travelling for thirty days constantly on the go takes a lot of energy.  For some, pushing through the first week or two of non-stop travel might not be hard, but I can promise that a lack of sleep will catch up with you no matter who you are.

I found quick catnaps at all different times of the day to be helpful in rejuvenating my energy level for the remainder of the day.  The day after a redeye flight often saw a catnap, either in the car or in a hotel room.

I managed to take naps on many of the flights I took.  Earplugs blocked out crying children and the jet engines that were more frequent than I would have liked.

One thing I didn’t take into account is the actual length of a redeye flight.  A redeye cross country flight takes roughly eight and a half hours on the clock.  I originally assumed a little less than eight of those hours would be spent asleep, about an hour dedicated to take off and landing.  But the time difference cheats three of those hours.  So you end up getting maybe four and a half hours of sleep.  Add a tale wind and you’re looking at even less.  Not a full night of sleep for most.

A redeye flight also messes up what day you think it is.  You depart on a Tuesday night and think it is still Tuesday when you land.  Nope, it’s really Wednesday, and it’s 6am.  Normal routines that consist of things like a shower help with this adjustment at home, but are MIA while travelling.  Traveling internationally makes this even worse and more difficult to adjust to.

Don’t cheat on how much rest you get while traveling.  Although tempting to get the most out of your trip, it can be detrimental to your progress while you’re awake, causing you to lose precious daylight hours.