How to AVOID JET LAG Like a Pro Traveler!

Everything you need to know to help you avoid or overcome jet lag when traveling. These 11 easy tips will have you feeling jet-lag-free on your next trip! The basic principles are simple: Be well rested, stay hydrated, and readjust your sleep schedule. But I’ll tell you the details of what’s worked for me and how to implement it for yourself. It’s not magic… it’s all about adjusting your body to think it’s in a new time zone
✅ You might enjoy watching some of these other videos:
✔️ Tips for Surviving Airport Security: • 15 Airport Security Ti...
✔️ Tips for Traveling with Toddlers: • How to Travel with a T...
Show notes below:
1. Pick a good flight time
Two good choices here…
Arrive in the morning so you can have plenty of time for sunlight and outdoor exercise on your arrival day. This might be a “long exhausting day” for some people. More on this later.
Or arrive at night so it’s a perfect time to go to sleep. For Tokyo a 2pm arrival is almost perfect for this.. Go through customs, train to central tokyo, hotel checkin, dinner, then sleep.
Pro-tip: Avoid the really late night arrivals… you know… 10pm… midnight. You’ll be getting in to your hotel super late… and probably not have enough sleep time that night.
2. Pick a good plane
Newer generation aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350, A380, and offer a far more natural cabin pressure. I find I feel much more rested and relaxed on those planes, and find it much easier to sleep.
3. Start before you go
Get up early… eat your meals earlier… go to sleep earlier
4. Rest well the night before
Sleep well before departure. Start off on the right foot by making sure your tiny time traveler is well-rested. Being tired from the get-go will only make jet lag in babies and toddlers worse
5. Switch your watch as soon as you take-off… mentally put yourself in the new time
If it’s “night time” in your new time zone, then try to sleep on the plane.
Consider bringing an eye mask, and some ear plugs or a noise cancelling headphone.
Ocgirl likes to eat before we get on the plane, so she can sleep right away if that’s what we’re doing.
If it’s “day time” when you’re on the plane, and you’re still landing that same day… then stay up.
6. When you get there -- Walk outside (or run, or jog, or skip, whatever)
Being outside, in fresh air and natural light is the only way to reset the internal body clock. You can’t do better than a jog. And when it’s time to sleep, being physically tired helps. Plus, it’s a great way to see any given city.
And if you got there in the morning, like 6am… have breakfast! Yes… they probably fed you breakfast on the plane. Have another one! If you can get to your hotel, take a shower if that’s something you do in the morning. Some hotels have “arrival suites” or gym showers they’ll let you use if your room isn’t ready.
Pro-tip -- don’t overschedule this day.. I find the arrival day is best for random exploring based on your energy level.
7. Don’t give in to a nap
And if you do.. Keep it short! Set your alarm and stick to it.
8. Eat when you’re hungry
Don’t really worry about usual “meal times” -- eat when your body tells you. 2 meals or 4 meals, it’s all good.
9. Go to bed at an early local bedtime
10. Decide whether you want to “reset” or just stick to your normal routine.
11. In babies: Younger than 6 months… it’s not really a thing since they sleep all the time!
💡 Yellow Productions on Social Media:
FACEBOOK: / yellowproductionstravel
INSTAGRAM: / yellowwproductions
TWITTER: / chrisraney
OCGirl @ INSTAGRAM: / ocgirl.notebook
🔔 BUSINESS INQUIRIES: [e-mail]
✔️ Explore more of my content on my 2nd channel, the Office Survival Guide: / @officesurvivalguide
😀 Support Yellow Productions on Patreon:
/ yellowproductions
📢 Check out my blog:
yelloww.net
😀 Yellow Productions Merchandise:
www.etsy.com/shop/yellowprodu...
🚀 My travel video gear:
Sony FDR-AX53 4K Handycam: amzn.to/2hYePVc
Sony ECMW1M Wireless Microphone: amzn.to/2gQKDGG
Pacsafe LS250 Anti-theft Shoulder Bag: amzn.to/2h0YCNt
🚀 My walking tour gear:
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: amzn.to/3eOd1uM
Rode Video Mic NTG USB Microphone: amzn.to/38NROxg
BlueParrott B450-XT Bluetooth Headset Microphone: amzn.to/3bV32ly
Audio Technica BPHS2S XLR Headset: amzn.to/2Qh89UN
Zoom H6 XLR Audio Recorder: amzn.to/3bU2fBl
DJI OM 4 Gimbal: amzn.to/3cCCQLC
🚀 My live stream and studio gear:
Sony A7SIII Camera: amzn.to/3rYY5NS​
Sony ECM-B1M Microphone: amzn.to/3tx3cFl
Audio Technica BPHS2S XLR Headset: amzn.to/2Qh89UN

[@YellowProductions]

✅ You might enjoy watching some of these other videos: ✔️ Tips for Surviving Airport Security: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHXFnISmZ7N3h9E ✔️ Tips for Traveling with Toddlers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHuYpIOEZqh0hbM

[@heatherfeather9951]

Traveling with toddlers-that sounds like the perfect title for a horror movie.

[@heleneg525]

When I travel to Europe, I always book the late evening flight so that I can sleep overnight on the plane. I don't get a full night's sleep, but even a few hours is enough for me to arrive decently alert. I stow my luggage in the hotel's luggage room, then get out and walk, tour, whatever. There's no way that I'm going to waste a day! On the first night at my destination, I'm in bed around 9 p.m. So, right away, I'm on Europe's time -- no jet lag. The worst thing a traveler can do is to take a nap upon arrival.

[@YellowProductions]

Good plan Helene!

[@awesomeadamfrom2099]

Awesome job Chris

[@NothingMaster]

Excellent tips, Chris. I’ve also noticed that when I stay hydrated and avoid alcoholic drinks on the plane, they really go a long way in minimizing the jet lag. Sometimes taking a colder shower as soon as you reach your destination could reset your internal clock, too; at least it works for me.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks for the extra tips Alex!

[@griffin2263]

all great Tips !! cant wait to travel again

[@MillionMileDrive]

Whenever I fly east, I try not to sleep the night before the flight and just sleep on the plane. If I'm not sleepy by the time I get to the airport, I buy some sleeping potion (Nyquil) 😂

[@scarynguyen1]

Good idea I Did The Same Thing.

[@StamfordBridge]

Glad it works for you. That would be a disastrous plan for me.

[@pdxaviation]

More great experience-based advice!

[@kaustubhatre18]

Very useful. Thanks dear. 😊

[@geoffreytbh]

Not only go outside for the sun but there is a thing called “earthing” take off your shoes and socks and actually connect with the ground for 15 minutes. We rarely get to really connect with the earth because we wear rubber soled shoes etc. and soaking up the earth from where you are at the moment can speed the adjusting to being there.

[@SigisTravelVideos]

Thanks for the tips!

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Sigi!

[@elissa1101]

Great tips

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Elissa!

[@ohmai3706]

Love the tips. Thank you!!

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Mai!

[@Alvaro-qz6qk]

Thanks! And thanks for the video description!

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Alvaro! Glad you liked the text in the description!

[@troys_collectibles9811]

Awesome tips Chris. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Troy!

[@normaiwahashi9549]

Great tips Mr. Raney!😃

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Norma!

[@MP-xf6gq]

Great Tips Mr. Chris. Thanks. Have a relaxing weekend. :-)

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks M P!

[@aracnealbarran7228]

Thank you

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Aracne!

[@colleenh5979]

Excellent video ! Really good tips, can't wait to use some of them once we travel again in the near future. Thanks Chris

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Colleen!

[@StamfordBridge]

Good advice born of experience.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks StamfordBridge!

[@tatjana_autistic]

This is really good tips in overall.👍☺️

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Tatjana!

[@MrFuggleGuggle]

A 13 hour flight from LA to Tokyo is almost guaranteed to give you jet lag…and you usually feel it more the 2nd day of the trip than the first.

[@ThailandTravelStudy]

This video is how I found your channel. Such a great video, so informative and overall great channel. I love your shtick

[@YellowProductions]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@edmundoca4631]

In my experience, being a fairly seasoned traveler, the more convenient flight times for mitigating jet lag are also the higher fares.

[@YellowProductions]

That's true Edmund

[@naroao6820]

Wonderful good job my good friend ❤️❤️

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Naro!

[@naroao6820]

@@YellowProductions welcome sir 🌹🌹🌹

[@naroao6820]

I love London sir 💕💕💕

[@scottman895]

These tips are very helpful! I remember reading a while back about trying to force yourself to adjust to the time zone of the destination. Walking outside in the fresh air is jet lag's worst enemy. That has helped me with all my overseas trips. One tip I would recommend is that when you are getting something to eat on the day you arrive especially after a long haul flight, I would not recommend eating at a dine-in restaurant with table service. I remember almost falling asleep in Croatia a few years ago waiting for the server to bring my dinner to the table. It might be a good idea to get something to go or go somewhere where they serve you at the counter. I ended up doing that the evening I arrived in Prague last month - I got a doner kebab for takeaway, and I did not feel like falling asleep.

[@YellowProductions]

Totally agree on "fast" food the first night. Especially in Europe where table service is super slow

[@EveliasKitchen]

Hey christ. Camera guy here from "Family Eats". Watched this video. Excellent!!! Which got me to then watch your airport security video. Another great one. Tha is for the great content.

[@YellowProductions]

Awesome. Thanks Family Eats camera guy!

[@jameshiga8077]

Hi Chris. Great tips for jet lag.I like to arrive in the morning because I like to make the most of my time when traveling. But I do take your advice and don't schedule stuff to do. Normally I would walk around the area to see what's interesting and like you said enjoy the sun. A tip that I do when I return after a trip is to make sure I take a day or two off before going back to work. I feel so much better going to work than going back the day after I come back. Thanks for sharing and take care.

[@YellowProductions]

Great tip on taking a day or two off of work at the end as well!

[@carmenhuehnken649]

Thank you Chris, helpful tips. We have more problems from Germany to the US than the other direction. Greetings Carmen und Sven

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Carmen and Sven!

[@TripHacksDC]

This is solid info. I get the worst jetlag.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks Rob!

[@darrellhornick7764]

#2 - I've never had luck choosing the plane I wanted. My sole preference is flight times. If I want to fly all night and get there in the morning/mid morning, I have to take what I get. :-(

[@vincentwesolowski459]

Greetings Chris, A former co-worker suggested to ask your physician for a script for Ambien. You take one for the first three nights you are in country and one for the first three nights when you are back home. Take care and stay healthy.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks for the tip Vincent

[@Theultrazombiekiller]

Grea tips! When going east to Europe, its best to take a red eye, or overnight flight. It really minimizes and can nearly get rid of jet lag. My wifes family lives in Germany and we live in Texas, so they are 7 hours ahead of us. We go visit once a year. We always take a flight that leaves Boston around 8pm and arrives in Munich at 9am their time, its only a 6.5 - 7 hour flight. We take off at night and arrive in the morning. If you can sleep just the last 3 hours on the flight, you wake up to morning in Germany. You are tired that first day obviously from only a few hours of poor quality sleep. We will stay up until 9pm or so that first day to get extra tired. Also for two days before we leave, we go to bed at 7-8pm and wake up at 3am to start a slight adjustment. We always have minimal jet lag and its gone after 1 night.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks for the tips!

[@stevehansen932]

I use to fly Norwegian and they had the 787 Dreamliner. I could actually tell I was less stressed then other planes and first class was only $2K round trip. Too bad Norwegian no longer flies to LAX. As for bed time. 10pm for me. Sometimes that's the best part of the day, ugh!

[@YellowProductions]

Yeah. The 787 is a great plane

[@george8bitsworth]

I loved your video. I wish I would have seen it before the first time I went to Europe. One point I'd like to comment on is setting your watch. I have always felt that was important. My primary reason is that if your body is in Dover, England and your watch is in Los Angeles, are you really in England? I once travelled with a friend that didn't set his watch and he was always asking me the time. By the way, that might be moot. I think if you use your phone for the the time of day it'll set itself to the local time.

[@YellowProductions]

Thanks for 2nding the watch tip!

[@gumerzambrano]

I'm taking an overnight flight from LA to DC in December and hopefully I'm able to sleep throughout the night 🙌🏼

[@YellowProductions]

I hope so Gumer!

[@joenelson5819]

I went from Sacramento California to Uganda Africa. I was fine going to and living in Africa. But, coming home has been really hard…….🤷🏼‍♂️

[@orcaproductions4090]

When We Did Our Return Trip From San Diego To Detroit We Were On A A321-2 And We Spent The Rest Of Our Last Day At Seaworld. And I Sept Across 2 Seats And I Woke Up With 1 Hour Left Inflight And When We Got Off When We Got on the shuttle back to Were We Parked I Felt Fine But When I Got Home I Felt Horrible And There Was A Heat Wave To Make It Worse.

[@VegasEducation]

I never go far enough to be jet lagged. Chris, I know you wouldn't remember me, but we chatted about me starting a youtube. I finally did it. You were one of the first people that inspired me to do vegas content. Keep up the good work 👍

[@YellowProductions]

Awesome to hear Vegas Education!

[@garrett1433]

Going to Japan in 7 days, jetlag gonna kill me 😅

[@Johnnie2g]

Same bro

[@marilynsue4273]

Bring instant coffee and your own cup, which you can make with hot tap water.

[@Bw899804]

I remember when I went to the beach that turns you old, I felt so tired and jetlagged.

[@ssjgarfield]

In about three weeks, I'll be heading to Japan (I live in The Netherlands) and I should arrive in Osaka around half past nine Japanese local time. I was wondering if you could tell me if my current travel strategy would be good or not. As soon as I take off from Amsterdam I'll set my watch to Japan local time and at the time I usually go to bed, I'll start or try starting sleeping so that I'll be well rested when I arrive in Osaka. Would this work out?

[@YellowProductions]

It sounds like a good plan. You probably won't really be "well rested" but it's the best you can do

[@ssjgarfield]

@@YellowProductions At least rested enough to explore Osaka upon arrival

[@hwtours]

I like the 787s. I find the 380s rattle and seem to have more delays.

[@Pixics]

Have you traveled with your daughter to asia yet? My son doesn't sleep much anyways so he adjusted pretty good to Korea time zone with no issues. Might be a different story with my other kids.

[@YellowProductions]

Hi Pixics. Not yet.. Most of Asia hasn't really been open yet :)

[@habibhussain825]

Assuminf your schedules allow, just sleep it off when you arrive at your destination and then get on woth your holiday

[@dominiccounts4023]

When I went to Amsterdam, my body never acclimated to the different time zone. I could not sleep at night.

[@valerianthemackiii5896]

🤓👍

[@toemblem]

I like jet lag so I am going to do the opposite. ;)

[@YellowProductions]

Hah

[@undisgraziato]

I hate red eyes. I recently took one to Boston, got up very early that morning so I could fall asleep on the plane. Never slept on the plane and was shot until I took an afternoon 1 hour and a half nap. Next time I’m going to sleep all day and heavily medicate at the airport before flight. 😂

[@StamfordBridge]

I hate redeyes, too, but for some destinations (a lot of Europe), they’re the only thing available. Ugh.

[@undisgraziato]

@@StamfordBridge I agree, but at least you have 7-8 to fall asleep. When you go cross country you have less than 4 hours to sleep

[@richardmercer2337]

12: Always fly N/S, never E/W!

[@YellowProductions]

Hah! Then no jet lag!

[@danielonn2002]

Melatonin need I say more?