There is nothing worse than saving up for your big dream trip only to spend every night tossing and turning

Sleeping through the day and just generally being a grouch because you didn't get your beauty sleep.

I'm Marko

I'm Alex

and you are watching vagabrothers your go-to guide for travel tips inspiration and vlogs here on YouTube

We were raised by a flight attendant who spent her whole career eating jetlag for breakfast,

and we do quite a bit jet-setting ourselves

So in this video we're gonna share our fourteen point plan to help you dominate Jet lag

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Get ready to arrive rested. This is how to beat jet lag before it beats you

First things first, what is jetlag?

Let's have professor Marko explain.

I'm glad you asked. Jet lag is a physiological condition

Resulting from the alteration of the body's circadian rhythms

as a result of rapid long-distance trans-meridian travel

Put simply it's when you fly across

too many time zones for your body clock to adjust

if you fly east, you can't sleep

And if you fly West, you wake up super early

and the more time zones you cross, the longer it takes your body to readjust

about two-thirds of a day per timezone

for example

Were you to travel from London to Shanghai

you cross seven time zones resulting in Jet Lag that would endure

approximately four days however were you to travel this exact same distance

London to Cape Town you would remain in the same time zone and therefore suffer

No jetlag

Make sense? Splendid.

Luckily there are a few simple steps that you can take

Starting with understanding your circadian rhythm

Commonly known as your body clock

your natural pattern of going to sleep and waking up

your body clock is set by two things

Natural lights and the hour at which you eat keep those principles in mind

Follow these tips and you'll be adjusted in no time

Start before you fly by adjusting your body clock while you're still at home

three days before your trip

Calculate the time difference between home and your destination

then adjust your sleep schedule gradually before your trip

Ideally about an hour a day

But even 30 minutes makes a big difference

Shh word to the wise

If you're flying east you have to wake up earlier if you're flying west you get to sleep in a little bit

if you have work in the morning sleeping in might

not be an option so try adjusting your meal time instead

if you really want to be precise you can use the website jetlagrooster.com

which allows you to plug in your destination the time of your flight and will give you a detailed hour-by-hour

recommendation on whether you should seek sunlight or sleep for up to three days before your flight and after

When it's time to choose your flight make your flight work for you

for longer distance flights

Taking an overnight flight

Also know as a "Red Eye" can help you adjust to jet lag faster because it's dark when you fly

Allowing you to sleep on the flight

And it's generally light when you arrive allowing you to take advantage of that first day in your new destination

Number three schedule a layover

another idea is to schedule a layover halfway to your destination to allow your body to

Acclimate little by little now

This is not always a practical suggestion

But Iceland in particular makes a convenient stop between Europe and North America

and airlines like

Icelandair allow you to make a stopover in the country for up to a week at no extra charge

That is if you can afford a week in Iceland on top of your vacation

If you're flying for business see if your company can upgrade you to business class

so you can sleep more comfortably on the flight

if not see if you can just arrive a day or two early so you can adjust for that big meeting

Even if you're just going on vacation

Allow yourself some time to recover

Don't plan too much for the first few days

let yourself get settled into your new destination so you're not crossing things off your bucket list

while you're super groggy

also make sure that you've packed your anti jetlag essentials

Earplugs

an eye shade

a refillable water bottle and melatonin and over-the-counter

Natural sleep aid that will come in handy later

Okay

Now we're ready to fly

an easy method is to adjust your watch the second you get to the airport,

dude like

What's a watch?

You mean, this thing?

Sure "VagaBrosef"

the point is to mentally transport yourself to your destination the second you hop on the plane

Before you drink a cup of coffee or take a nap

Think about how that would affect you if you were there already

I might not have a watch

But like I totally know how to follow the vagabrothers on Instagram and turn on notifications

So what are you doing out there?

and once you arrive quit your moaning about how late it is back home

It'll only take you out of the moment and make you tired

just focus on adjusting your body clock to the local time

Number seven don't sleep on the plane

We come to a contentious suggestion that you probably shouldn't take a nap on the plane

But Bros... I just want to sleep

me and this little gnome got after it last night

Totally Raged!

We get you VagaBrosef

when we used to live in Spain our pre-flight ritual

Was to go out partying all night take a taxi to the airport

And then pass out on the flight all the way back home to California

Alas science has proven us wrong on various fronts

unless you're on a red-eye flight, going to sleep could throw you off worse than if you just stayed awake

But you already use jet lag rooster to find out if you should go to sleep or stay awake

Right?

Either way modern planes make dealing with jet lag a lot easier the Airbus a380 and the Boeing 787

Have LED lights that simulate the local time at your destination so if you see the lights go dark

That's probably a good time to catch some Z's

The best thing to do during the flight is to drink tons of water

The pressurized cabin air really dehydrates you and even though modern planes have made some improvements for that

It's still pretty bad so even if you're offered for free booze or coffee just stick to water and keep drinking

It's really good to have a refillable water bottle of your own which you can bring onto the flight

So you're not nagging the flight attendant for a tiny little cup of water every half hour

Once you arrive no matter what you do

do not take a nap as tempting as it may be

Taking a nap will actually make it harder to adjust a jet lag instead try staying up until 9 p.m. at least

A better strategy is to go for a run right when you land

I'm not talking about like in the airport right when you land, but once you get situated go outside go for a jog

It's gonna give you some energy. It's gonna help

You sleep better that night

and

It's a great way to get your bearings in a new city

out on your jog find some cool spots to check out the next day

But make sure that you don't go running too late because it could make it hard for you to go to sleep that night

Your body clock adjusts based on changes in natural light so catching a sunrise or a sunset

Will be an automatic cue for your body to figure out

What time it is

Lame but proven by experts another counterintuitive tip is to a avoid alcohol

and caffeine because those are both proven to hurt your quality of sleep

However I'd make a personal amendment to the last rule if you're gonna drink alcohol or caffeine

Work with jetlag not against it

that is if you fly east and you're having trouble going to sleep hit the town

And if you fly west and you wake up early go for a morning run

And then drink a coffee

sometimes we get frustrated when jetlag throws us off

But we forget that it can be a good thing

keeps us up past our bedtime. If you're kind of a grandparent like me or

It'll make you an early bird for once

whatever it is just roll with it

If you're still having trouble going to sleep try doing some nighttime yoga, or taking a natural sleep aid like melatonin

It's a hormone found naturally in the body that helps regulate sleep cycles

It's available over-the-counter and doesn't have the nasty side effects of prescription strength sleeping pills

Lastly, eat right

Have a meal when the locals do even if you're not hungry

start your day with a high-protein breakfast which is gonna

Give you a ton of energy

Swap out heavy meals for little snacks throughout the day and avoid high-fat dinners

Which are hard to digest and can make it difficult to fall asleep.

Those are our tips for beating jetlag

What are yours? Share your own comments tips questions in the comment section

And if you have an idea for a future video email us a short clip at submissions.vagabrothers @gmail.com

For a chance to be featured in an upcoming video

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So you don't miss any of our videos

and in the meantime remember stay curious, keep exploring, and we will see you on the road

Hopefully dominating jet lag because jet lag sucks

Our mom eats pieces of jetlag like you for breakfast