Ever since visiting Panda two weekends ago, I’ve been able to get up earlier in the morning (in fact, I can’t help but wake up between 6 and 7:30).  When I first wake in the morning, I usually take a look at my phone to make sure I still have time and go back to a light sleep until my alarm goes off at 8:30.  I then get out of bed in the next 15-20 minutes, shower, and get ready to head out.  I’ve been able to make it to work on time or 5-10 minutes early.  Fantastic!

Prior to my trip, I’d been getting in a bad habit – snoozing until 9:15, when I’d jump out of bed, throw something on, brush my teeth and hair, wash my face, and rush out only to be 5 minutes late to work.  While nobody is watching the clock when we start showing up at work, I always felt a little guilty that I just couldn’t make it on time.  Who knows if anybody else noticed.  All that mattered was my own conscience, nagging at me silently.  I’d been slipping into a funk and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t fix it.  I even slept a good 8-9 hours once and I think it actually made matters worse.

I guess getting up at 3:30 AM PST to get to the airport and hop on a flight that would get me to LA by 11:30 AM PST did something to adjust my biological clock setting.  Even though I did sleep quite a bit on the plane, none of it was very restful and as soon as I landed I headed back to work that day.  By the end of my work day, I was so exhausted I wanted nothing else but to rest.  Maybe what I needed was just that one day of extended exhaustion to make me tired by 11 and actually willing to sleep before midnight.  Now I get plenty of sleep and while I always want more, it is much easier to get up on time in the mornings (and even sneak a shower in!).

So you see people, jetlag isn’t always a bad thing!  Maybe it’s even that restart or jump start that your body has been waiting for.