So Tired

I’m tired.

I’m often tired, but nothing compares to jetlag. Especially when I’m crammed in an airplane seat, making it a struggle to stay in one position, much less sleep to try to get adjusted. So now it’s about noon on Sunday in Toronto, and I have around 2 total hours of sleep since Saturday morning. Hence me being tired.

But I refuse to take a nap. I’ve got three days to get my internal clock adjusted, and no matter how heavy my eyelids get, I’m going to keep them from closing at all costs for another 5 hours or so. By any means necessary. Blogging will cut away some time, Dinner will eat away some more. I brought along the board game Settlers of Catan, so maybe that will take care of a good chunk of my evening. Hopefully I won’t have to resort to taping my eyes open, but I won’t rule it out just yet.

It doesn’t help that the only things in our hotel room are two beds and a bathroom. All it puts is sleeping on the mind. Kinda tough when the only thing I shouldn’t be doing is sawing logs. I’m actually surprised I’m awake enough to write about how asleep I want to be. Though the longer I wait to fall asleep, the less sleepy I become, since it's actually only about mid afternoon in Toronto.

Most of the guys on tour use Melatonin. A naturally occuring hormone, which your body automatically produces more of at night. The production of Melatonin is a little fragile though, as it is affected by changes in light and surrounding. Your body gets habituated to a regular sleep cycle producing less during daylight, and more when you sleep. So when you through of that regulated pattern, you produce Melatonin at the wrong times. This is the basic concept behind jetlag, so many people find taking Melatonin tablets helps them adapt sooner.

I don't use it. Or at least haven't yet. I'm still uncomfortable ingesting any sort of pills or powders. Even though Melatonin is already found in every human body, you never know how pills or powders were prepared. And I would hate to be kicked out of sport for popping a pill that I thought was good for me.

Fortunately, I tend to adapt pretty quickly to time changes on my own. Or at least I have to date, it's only the first day that's difficult. Let's hope adapting to Myslowice, Poland for our next event is no different.

Cheers,

Ben Jammin