Traveling long distances takes a major toll on our bodies. This is especially true for anyone who has flown on a plane for 20+ hours. That’s about how long it takes for Jenny and I to go from our current home to the Philippines. It includes a pit stop and about a full day of using a small shared bathroom flying very high in the earth’s atmosphere.

Only a small fraction of the world’s population will ever endure a long distance relationship with this much distance. To those, I advise you to add an additional day to your trip for sleep.

On first beecation I arrived at about midnight. This changed my sleeping pattern dramatically. All of the complimentary breakfasts (which was literally only toast with what I hope was butter) went to other patrons. I don’t think we managed to wake up before 11AM the entire week. We did, however, stay up until 3AM most nights.

On second beecation I departed the plane midday. My sleeping pattern was still off, but now in reverse. During this trip we routinely woke up at 4am and slept by 9pm at the latest. If we were twice our current age we would’ve made a killing at the early bird specials.

During both trips I was very tired upon arrival. I puked the second time and was only grouchy on the first. Jenny can attest to this lethargy as she witnessed it twice and even had the chance to experience it when she arrived in America after her own trek across the planet.

We were fortunate during my second visit that we had two full weeks together. This allowed me to sleep for almost an entire day and feel revitalized by day two even if I was waking up the same time as a 90-year-old does. Since I’m a third that age, I was lucky enough not to believe every object in the room was a grandchild.

Before any major trip, it’s important to prepare in advance for how much sleep will be stolen away from the commute. In our extreme example, it took a full day to get back to normal; or at least what we pretend normal is.