When traveling to see family over the Christmas break, I’m usually changing timezones by 8-12 hours. The change is particularly difficult on the West to East journey.
I end up building up sleep debt over the course of a week—consistently getting fewer hours per night than I normally do.
The issue with sleep debt is that it’s invisible; making it easy to ignore. But eventually, the debt comes due. So I consciously try and take afternoon naps when changing timezones because the cost of not doing so is a higher risk of illness and feeling a bit like a zombie.
Sleep debt is an simple example, but most debts are invisible, and require the same level of attention and proactive repayment.