Q&A: Why Are You So Tired After Vacation – and What Can You Do About It?

One day, you’re soaking up the sun in a breathtaking location. The next, you’re scrambling to catch a flight home. And the day after that, you’re yawning your way through the return to work.

Most of us have experienced post-vacation fatigue – that state of fogginess that hits when we return to reality following a week of bliss.

We spoke to Dr. Scott Schecter from the University of Virginia Sleep Disorder Center for tips on how to keep your energy high to maximize your summer vacation and eliminate any drowsiness after it’s over. 

Dr. Scott Schecter

Dr. Scott Schecter, a sleep medicine specialist, works in the University’s Sleep Disorder Center. (UVA Department of Medicine photo)

Q. What’s a good way to sleep better while on vacation?

A. It’s hard. Any time you’re in a new environment; it usually takes a couple of days for you to be able to fully relax and get a full sleep. We’re just hardwired not to want to sleep too deeply in a new environment, and it’s hard to get the same depth of sleep for a while. 

One piece of advice is to try to keep routines as normal as possible. Since you can’t control the large aspects of the environment, use the small aspects to anchor you back to your home bedroom. 

Q. If you sleep with the TV on at home, should you try to continue that while on vacation to simulate that environment?

A. We usually don’t recommend keeping the TV on, but for some people, it works. Generally, if it’s been working, it’s not something I’m going to recommend they stop. Going to sleep with the TV on, especially if it’s on the same channel as it usually is at home, it may anchor you to make it feel like you’re at the same place. 

You may also a bring a pillow you like, or a blanket. Those can anchor you to your home environment. 

Q. What’s an alternative for having the TV on at night?

A. A lot of people have white noise machines, and there are apps for those. People have done research, and there’s a whole industry around calming sounds. 

For some people, that’s something that’s part of their routine, and it helps them sleep. The key is to try to avoid light and not have those subtle effects on your circadian rhythm.

Q. What’s the best way to get adjusted to a new time zone?

A. If you’re going to someplace like in Europe, that’s six hours ahead of us, and you’re someone who goes to sleep at 10 p.m., you want to continue that when you get to your new destination. All the people like you in that destination who are also 10 p.m. sleepers, they’re falling asleep when it’s 4 your time. So, to adjust as much as possible, you need to start pushing your bedtime a little bit earlier the couple of days before you go.

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Q. What’s the best way to do that?

A. The best way to advance your bedtime earlier would be to use something like melatonin and then take that earlier and earlier to try to pull your sleep time earlier in the day. And you’re probably not going to be able to get your bedtime to, like, 4 p.m. before you leave, but if you moved it from 10 to 8, I think that would make it a lot easier to then acclimate once you get there. 

Another thing is getting light exposure in the mornings. If you get that early in the morning, it can tend to push your bedtime a little bit earlier.

Q. What’s the best way to get readjusted as you’re traveling back to your normal time zone?

A. Most people tolerate that a little bit better. It would be the opposite, essentially. Say you took a trip to Hawaii as we’re six hours ahead of them. So, if you‘re someone who goes to bed at 10 p.m., then the people in Hawaii who are similar to you, they’re not actually going to bed until 4 a.m. our time. 

So, you’d want to slowly start shifting your schedule further back, and usually that’s done by avoidance of light in the morning before you left, and maybe getting some light exposure later in the day before you leave. That may help push it backward. 

Q. Though it’s probably difficult, how paramount is keeping a balanced diet on vacation to have energy restored upon returning?

A. Eating does play a similar role as light and other markers during the day. Keeping a consistent meal schedule can be helpful. So, if you’re someplace that’s six hours ahead of us and you typically eat lunch at noon, eating lunch at noon there can be helpful.

I know, for most of us, when we’re on vacation, the eating schedule is a lot different. There may be more grazing, which can kind of throw off your schedule a little bit when it’s already out of whack.

Q. What have you done, personally, to hit the ground running at work upon returning from vacation?

A. One thing is I don’t like coming back home to a lot of inbox messages, so I’ll bring a computer with me and just spend 10 to 15 minutes in the mornings, when I’m drinking coffee, going through them. I know some people feel like it crosses a line to do any work on vacation, but it helps me a lot. 

I think the last vacation I took, I planned it out so I got home on a Saturday and then still had the weekend before I got back to work on Monday, which I like more. I’ve had some times where I had to get home that night and go back to work the next day, and I’m usually miserable. So, I do try to plan the travel in a way that I’m not getting back on a Sunday night.

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