The holidays mean large extended family gatherings, hours of cooking and a group of people who don’t typically interact in person, all confined to one location and trying to act festive. It’s the reality show version of your family.

When you return from your holiday visit, you may be exhausted for days afterward, finding it hard to focus and return to your regular routine. It feels as if you took the red-eye from Phoenix, but in reality it was a quick one-hour flight from Cleveland.

This is family jet lag.

As with traditional jet lag, the problem is the result of a disruption of your normal routine. Family jet lag works both ways, affecting both travelers and those who receive out-of-town relatives. It’s not that you don’t want to see your family, but the fact that you see them in person only once or twice a year means that you have a limited opportunity to discuss difficult issues best dealt with face-to-face.

It’s more than just the tryptophan, two kinds of potatoes and three kinds of pie that wear you out during family celebrations. According to Dr. Adam Fried, a clinical psychologist in Scottsdale, Ariz., the connection between emotional stress and physical exhaustion is not in your head.