How to Beat Jet Lag (Without Looking Like a Fool)

Jet lag, the worst part of flying. Hey there fellow travelers, Mark here with Wolters World and today we're going to talk about jet lag and how much jet lag sucks. Well yes, we all know jet lag sucks, it's a fact of life, but what I want to do today is actually give you some advice to help you kind of beat jet lag or at least make jet lag not as impactful on your vacation because sometimes it really can impact you and make those first few days of traveling, visiting a new country or for a work trip really sluggish and slow and not as enjoyable as they can be. So I'm going to kind of go through a few things to kind of help you out. And today is one of those days I know I'm probably going to have a little bit of jet lag tomorrow because I woke up at 3.30 in the morning, Venice time, to get a flight from Venice to here in Amsterdam. Now I'm in Amsterdam for four hours, and I fly from Amsterdam to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta for a few hours. Then from Atlanta, I fly home. And then at home, well, I just have to drive home after that. So, you know, wake up at 3.30 in the morning, Venice time, which is like 8 p.m. back home, and I'll be home midnight the next day, home time. it's a lot of things on there but there's some things i can do and these things that i do a lot of times to help me adjust for jet lag i thought it'd be helpful for you and one thing you have to realize is jet lag is going to happen okay don't be like mad at yourself for having jet lag it is a fact of life because you're changing these time zones you're playing with the way you sleep it will hit you and that's okay because i see some people they are really upset by like oh dang jet lag and they kind of like use that as an excuse why are they're not doing things don't let jet lag hold you back okay be safe with it but just know it can happen and i think one thing you need to realize is when you're buying your tickets, purchasing the right tickets for your flight or for your sleep habits or for where you're going to can be very helpful. So for example, if you can get an overnight flight, like most flights from the U.S. to Europe are overnight, so you can do that. So you can sleep on the plane. However, sometimes you're not that lucky. Like when you're going from Europe to the U.S., a lot of times it's day flights. So I will wake up at a normal, well, normal three thirty in the morning time to have the whole day there. So maybe then I can sleep when i get there because i get in the night time so that can kind of help but planning your flight around kind of like your sleep schedule or the schedule the country you're going to go to can really help because sometimes you can plan when you're going to arrive because sometimes going from like the east coast to the west coast and vice versa in the u.s can give you jet lag even with just four hours of time change and so what can be good is you plan your arrival so you arrive at bedtime okay or at least in the evening so you can stay up for a bit when you get in and then go to sleep when you get to your hotel or your rental or your airbnb or whatever just so you can start getting on that time zone because that's one of the big things with jet lag is getting on the local time zone as soon as you can and the thing is is when you're booking your flights you've got all your stuff there's some things you can do actually on the plane to kind of help you adjust that jet lag one thing i would say is you know don't forget to just try to rest even if you can't sleep like i don't sleep on the plane like it doesn't matter how long it's gonna be i know i'm not gonna sleep i can try i can try i can try but never get comfortable enough what i know i can do is rest okay and that's one of those things is if you need some kind of rest don't just binge watch the movies the entire way through the tv series all the way through because what ends up happening is you stay awake and you're fighting the sleep and you're fighting the sleep to watch the next episode of Bobby Flay or whatever the newest movie that comes through so make sure you give yourself time to relax also when you are on the plane to kind of help with your circulation help your body moves you're not as stiff when you get there don't forget to get up during your flight and walk it up and down the the aisle you know go back to the the toilets and maybe do some, you know, leg stretches or, you know, I mean, what I do in some of the long-haul flights may have like a little secluded part. I'll actually do deep knee bends and stuff like that to keep the blood circulating, which helps me kind of stay relaxed. So even if I'm not sleeping, I am at least relaxing a bit. And the things you bring with you on the plane, bring things that can help you sleep. I know some people, they like their neck pillows or maybe the eye mask, maybe like your noise-canceling headphones so you don't hear the people talking next to you. Those things can really help, especially if you're doing one of the day flights like I am. I'm actually really important to help you sleep and that you know because most people aren't sleeping on the flight because during the Day, so therefore you need to put yourself more in a kind of a sleep setting so that can be helpful I know Jocelyn actually has a blow-up pillow that goes in the like on the ground so she can put her feet up So she kind of is like almost like laying down in her seat And then the thing is you also want to think about is the clothing you wear because sleeping on the plane I have a video on long-haul flight tips that'll help you out But for the jet lag to get rested, you know wear clothes that are gonna be a little bit looser don't have tight, restricting clothes, because then you're gonna be more tight, more stressed out, then less likely to relax while you're flying. And that's going to tense you up and make you more like stressed out. Therefore, the jet lags are gonna hit you even harder because you didn't get a chance to relax on the plane. Also, when you see people walking by on the plane, when the flight attendants have that water, every time they bring it by, drink it, drink the whole thing, drink as much water as you can, because staying hydrated, helps your body kind of maintain its balance, but also helps you with the jet lag, staying hydrated, being dehydrated just make things worse and when you are coming you know think about the snacks you want to bring think what you're gonna have on the food or the airport and one thing i would say is you know be smart with what you're eating you know if you need something to help you sleep you know like walnuts tart cherries you know they can kind of help you be a little more relaxed help you sleep a little bit better or maybe to keep you fighting through the jet lag have some high protein snacks like protein bars or complex carbohydrates so you don't have like that energy crash because sometimes you're feeling great because i'm in amsterdam now yes i want to see the sights and then all of a sudden your energy just crashes so having those complex carbs having some protein bars some high protein stuff that can help you out but also try to avoid like greasy food and really heavy food because then you're going to feel really sluggish and gross and that's just going to kind of kind of snowball into things that might give you a worse when the jet lag does hit you that's why it's really important to try to eat a light meal when you are flying to kind of help with the jet lag because that heavy meal again it's just going to put you in a kind of a gross feeling kind of thing that's not going to let you relax not going to let you sleep when you get into your new destination. So something to kind of think about. And something you can do actually before you get on your plane is before you go start adjusting your timing, like start going to bed a little bit earlier or a little bit later, whichever is closer to the times that you're going to. So therefore, it's not a seven hour time difference of going to bed, it's only like a four hour time difference going to bed, which is a little more manageable. And this is actually really helpful if you got little kids is what we do with our boys a lot when they were little, that really did help getting them on their time change kind of thing. Also, you might want to think about it terms of your food schedule as well maybe for the few days before you're adjusting your lunch and dinner time because i'll tell you you get to Japan and it's a 12 hour time difference all of a sudden your noonday munchies hit at midnight and you're like oh i need to be sleeping but now i'm super hungry so that's another thing you can do to kind of help fight the jet lag now another thing with your jet lag you can do is when you do have layovers you can use it to rest you know maybe have a little nap or two but make sure you do set an alarm because you'll be surprised how many tourists actually oversleep even if they're at the gate and the people are calling your name it might not wake you up so feel free to take a rest but make sure put that alarm so you don't miss your flight okay also if you are wanting to kind of help with the jet lag help to sleep better on the plane if you have those miles or you have the money that's one of those times you might want to pay up to get a nicer seat like i will use my miles so when i fly to europe i can rest better on the plane if i don't sleep maybe i get a little more leg room so i can at least like relax a bit when I come over because I'm more worried about the jetlag when I get here because I get here in the morning, and I'll be like all tired when I'm here. I'm like, no, I got to enjoy the rest of the day when I'm here. First of all, when I go home, I'm not as worried because I get back, I'll be back at midnight tonight. So it's probably not gonna be as hard for me to go to bed. So you want to kind of think about these things when you're adjusting like when you're gonna fly or if you're gonna upgrade for things because it can make a difference with the jetlag. So now we're here in Atlanta. And after a 10 hour flight and a few hours of going through security checks and baggage claim, I can already feel that the jetlag is probably gonna hit me pretty bad and one of the things you have to realize is after you arrive there's some things you can do to help avoid jet lag or at least make it not as bad and I think one of the big things is don't go to sleep look a lot of people they'll get into town like they'll get into Europe you know 10 o'clock in the morning like oh I'll just take a nap now then they have like three or four hours and they just get themselves all out of whack and I want to tell you don't take a nap when you get in there stay up until at least like seven o'clock at night six o'clock at night eight o'clock at night so you can get to bed then and then you can like sleep a normal night even if it's going to bed early it's going to help because you take a nap when you first get there that can throw you off now if you do have to take a nap because sometimes you do just for like safety kind of stuff i will say this don't take more than a half hour an hour long nap like set the alarm don't think you're just going to wake up because you won't because you will zonk out set the alarm for an hour half hour hour and a half something like that but nothing more than that because then you can get a little bit of your energy and then you can go for the day and that's if you're getting there in the morning if you're getting any time after like two or three o'clock in the afternoon, do not take a nap, make sure you stay up at least till like seven o'clock at night and then go sleep. And then if you wake up at five o'clock in the morning, great, you're ready for the next day, but you're getting on that time kind of the right time for you got to be. And if you're having a hard time kind of moving and getting going, one of the best things you can do to help with jet lag is get out in the sun. Look, if you're like, Oh, I'm so tired, I need to sleep more. No, get up and go out when you get that sun on you it really kind of wakes you up your body wakes up as well to help you adjust that new time zone. Now another tip is if you do get that good night's rest that first night or even some a good night's rest with some kind of rest that night. One thing I want to tell you though, is don't sleep in on that first like morning that you're abroad, because you want to get up seven, eight, nine o'clock and then go start having a normal day. So you can't in the cycle for that times when you're in because you sleep until noon or one or two, you're actually not in that time zone. And then it's gonna mess up your whole thing, because you can really get off the cycle. Like for example, if you're going from the US to Japan, it's like a 12 hour time difference and again like you're getting up at a wrong time it's really hard to get your body readjusted and instead of having one bad day you end up having three bad days with jet lag okay that's why it's really important those first day first day or so you really want to focus on getting your sleep getting your rest not letting yourself oversleep so you're better on the time zone and if you need help staying up you know have a coffee have a coke you know have some dark chocolate these kind of things kind of give you a little bit of caffeine boost to keep you going so you get to at least that seven o'clock, eight o'clock at night, and then go to bed. Well, you might need it in the morning or the midday to keep you going. Because sometimes you do hit that wall. That's why it was important for the complex carbohydrates, the protein kind of food to help you keep going. Sometimes you do need that caffeine in the afternoon to give that little boost to keep you going. So something to kind of think about. And then of course, to help you adjust with jet lag, you can talk to your doctor about those things like jet zone and melatonin or, or other things like I'm not a I'm not a medical doctor, but you want to talk to your doctor about things that they can give you, or they can recommend over the counter that can help you kind of adjust to the time zones that might be helpful i know jocelyn loves her jet zone that's what she's been using um but it's something you want to think about and i would definitely talk to your doctor about it don't just like go buy random stuff talk to your doctor see what they recommend because they might have something that's best for you i think important safety thing to mention when it comes to jet lag is not realizing how your kind of reaction time diminishes your attention diminishes and it's really important if you're flying back home and to be driving home after a long flight back from japan or europe or whatever realize that you know what maybe i shouldn't be driving home maybe i should get a ride maybe i should get that taxi that uber home maybe we stay at a hotel and then drive the next day because there's been times we've actually done that we've flown into st louis which like a two and a half hour drive from the airport to our house we're like no we're too tired we end up staying at one of the hotels the airport because we knew it's not really safe the thing is jet lag doesn't have to ruin your vacation doesn't have to ruin your time back but it's something you do have to deal with and so i'm going to give you some of these tips some of these things you could do to make the jet lag impact less on your next trip so what are your tips on getting rid of jet lag let us know in the comments below to help out other travelers and i've got one more flight to get me home and then i gotta drive but i'm actually feeling okay so i should be all right to drive so have a good one i'll talk to you later bye from here in atlanta now finishing off our story i have made home it's like 27 hours since i started i did sleep on my last flight so i feel ready to drive home so uh made it it's uh four degrees outside it's cold because i want to be safe when you're i don't want jet lag to you know ruin your trip sorry because it's important to be safe when you're coming home on because it is safe to because it is important to be safe when you're coming back because you don't have the attention you can't have Yeah.