How To Never Get Jet Lag Again

You’re about to learn how to never get jet lag again.

I used to get the worst jet lag in the world.

Now I never get jet lag despite flying long-haul and switching time zones 8 hours back and forth regularly.

How To Never Get Jet Lag Again

My first experience with jet lag was when I first flew long-haul from London to Phoenix (11-hour flight) and experienced a time zone shift of 8 hours behind.

I spent almost a week vomiting from both ends, shaking with anxiety, and stumbling around in confusion. I couldn’t sleep at night but also couldn’t keep my eyes open during the day.

I continued travelling long-distance for years (e.g. Canada to Thailand, Japan to England, etc.) and I always suffered this terrible jet lag.

But I finally figured out how to completely avoid jet lag.

I’ve tested this method and under these circumstances in the last couple months alone I’ve avoided jet lag completely:

• London to Tokyo: 13 hour flight. Left London 11am, arrived in Tokyo 8am the next day, got straight to work after landing.
• Tokyo to London: 12 hour flight. Left Tokyo at midnight, arrived in London 6am the previous day.
• Tokyo to London with a stopover in Dubai: 24 hours travel time.

Ready to know the “secret” to beating jet lag forever?

Here it is.

There are 4 MUST-DO components to this method.

I’ll mark these for you and list them first in order of importance.

If you can only do 1-4 things, make sure you choose these ones as they’re at least 80+% of how this jet lag busting method works.

After that, it’s up to you if you wanna do the optional things I’ve listed. I think they make a difference, but they’re not a complete requirement – just a little extra boost.

Also a clarification:

You’re still gonna be tired on the day you travel.

That’s obvious because you’ve delayed sleeping for longer than normal. But I don’t class that as jet-lag.

If you’ve managed to get back to a normal the day after landing and avoid all sleepiness, sickness, and confusion, I consider that beating jet lag.

1 – MUST-DO: Deep breathing before and after your flight

The deep breathing I’m talking about is very specific.

It’s taught in the Wim Hof Method Fundamentals Course (which I’ve reviewed). 

Specifically the breathing style is in the lessons titled:

• Inflammation
• Stress Control
• Creativity

The course is pricy. So if you can’t afford it check out videos of Wim Hof demonstrating parts of the method like this one:

The type of breathing that I find works best for jet lag is a bit different from that style.

I’m not a doctor, and I can’t explain best in writing, so if you can afford the course, I highly recommend it as you’ll get to see the method demonstrated properly.

But basically, before a flight I’ll do 3-5 “rounds” of breathing.

• Deep inhales where I fully fill my lungs.
• Then I just let go.
• Fully in, not fully out.

I’ll do this until my body (lips, arms, legs, face) start to tingle and I feel lightheaded.

It feels like you could faint.

Then I’ll take one deep breath in and HOLD IT.

I’ll then squeeze my neck, chest, and head, forcing oxygen into those areas.

This kinda feels like your head’s gonna explode.

Then release.

I’ll do this a few more times.

I’ll also do deep breathing, exhale completely, and then do a shit-load of pushups without air in my lungs.

Sounds crazy but this breathing method is a MUST before a long-haul flight.

It completely resets the system.

You’ll also feel a massive drop in any pre-flight anxiety.

I also do this after I land and I find I can adjust to the time zone right away.

• You can check out the full course here (highly recommended if you travel a lot)

2 – MUST-DO: A brutal workout before and after your flight

I got this tip from Joe Rogan when he was interviewing Wim Hof (seeing a pattern here?).

Joe said that after he lands in a new place, as soon as possible, he’ll do such a brutal workout (weights, cardio, whatever) that it feels like he’s fighting for his life.

And that completely resets him and helps him to never have jet lag.

I started doing the same thing, except I’ll make sure I’ll do it the day of the flight (if possible) and as soon as possible after landing.

You probably can’t do too much.

You’ll be tired.

But try your best.

Lift some weights, do some body weight exercises, do some cardio.

Just get your heart beating, make your breath heavy, and get sweaty for around 20 minutes.

This advice combined with the deep breathing completely obliterates jet lag.

It’s miraculous really.

3 – MUST-DO: Be HIGHLY selective about what you eat

I know this will be difficult for most people.

Sitting on a plane for 8+ hours isn’t fun.

Most people cope with the boredom by drinking cheap red wine and eating junk food.

That used to be me too.

But one time I got a long-haul flight and my mind was a bit over-preoccupied. So I naturally had no appetite, didn’t eat before the flight, and declined all plane food, sticking only to water.

I found this made a tremendous difference in energy levels when I landed in the country and I was able to reset very quickly.

A lot of the problems associated with jet lag come about because your daily rhythms are off (not just the sleep-wake cycle or sunlight exposure).

One of these rhythms is food.

But if you skip the food during travel time, you can “trick” your body into getting on the new time zone’s schedule very quickly by introducing a meal at a normal time when you land at your destination.

If you can’t completely abstain from food, I’d suggest you be highly selective about what you put into your body.

Simply put, that means:

Limit your carbs as much as possible and eat clean!

4 – MUST-DO: Supplement wisely 

I don’t want you to think you have to buy a bunch of stuff in order to effectively beat jet lag.

A decent workout after landing, a good deep breathing session, and watching what you eat will make a world of difference.

But I’ve personally found a few supplements to be game-changers, and if you travel regularly, these supplements are a solid investment.

These supplements are also just generally awesome for day-to-day life.

My first recommendation is a supplement called Gorilla Mind Rush.

I won’t go into huge detail on this supplement as you can see my full review here:

• Gorilla Mind Supplement Review

Suffice it to say, if you land at your destination early in the morning, pop a couple of these supplements and you will be completely awake and extremely high-functioning throughout the day.

I feel like I could waltz into a day full of meetings straight off a long-haul economy flight with Gorilla Mind in my system.

My next supplement recommendation is Vitamin D.

This is the sunshine vitamin and will make your body think it’s daytime.

Again, if it’s morning time at your destination, take a Vitamin D and you’ll feel way more alert.

If it’s nighttime, I recommend magnesium as this will relax you. Salts are my preference but tablets work too.

I also HIGHLY recommend GABA.

You need to megadose GABA in order to feel the benefit.

3000 mg does the trick for me.

If you take that 30 minutes before you want to sleep, you’ll have a solid sleep. So use GABA when you arrive at your destination or if you want to sleep through your flight.

Optional jet-lag busters

Okay, so after the breathing, working out, eating right (or not at all), and supplementing intelligently, if you want to throw a few more things into the mix, I’ve also found these things make a marginal difference (it all adds up though).

Ginger

I’ll eat more ginger in the days leading up to a long-haul flight.

I’ll eat it with food, throw it in a juice, or buy supplements with ginger in them.

Ginger is phenomenal for the immune system, which is exactly what we want in order to beat jet-lag.

I’ve found the worst part of jet-lag is due to the immune system taking a hit. So make sure it’s functioning well before you even get on the flight.

Surgical mask

You probably aren’t gonna want to do this if you’re not travelling to or from Asia as the surgical mask looks weird and scary to most non-Asians.

But I don’t care.

I always put a surgical mask on during a long-haul flight and I find that my nose isn’t stuffy by the time I land. I feel like I can breathe better and I don’t get ill.

You can get them on Amazon here.

Cold showers

Before and after your flight!

Cold showers are great for the immune system and taking one after landing will reset you a little bit.

Cold showers can give you a much-needed boost of adrenaline and dopamine to keep you going after you land.

And that’s how to never get jet lag again, folks!

Put this stuff into action the next time you have a long-haul flight and let me know how this advice worked for you!