Eo 610 | The 7 Ways to Beat Jet Lag Before it Beats You

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Today is going to be a pretty fun episode. It's a little bit different than some of the topics we've been covering because today is going to be about jet lag. And how jet lag does not have to wipe out the first few days that we're on the road. I'm talking about jet lag because it's actually something that we're all faced with, especially right now. We're in the, we're in the summer months. Many of you are, are traveling, you're on vacation. And after these summer months, in many industries, real estate being one, it's, it's like the start of event season where the brokerages hold events and and different companies have their training events. We just have a lot of travel this time of year. And I think for so many of us, jet lag kicks our butts. In this episode, though, today, I want to share some of the things that I do, the 7 things that I do that help me stay sharp across multiple time zones. Not using melatonin, there's not any sort of gimmicks here. These are just the things that I deploy, the habits that I think I think work. If 1 or 2 of these make a difference for you, then I'm stoked, I'm excited. So, jet lag. It's not one of those things that we have to simply just accept. So many of you fly across the country or even across the world and you just almost think, "Well, the next 2 or 3 days, I'm gonna be in a fog and that's just how it goes." You'll use an excuse like, I'm just adjusting. Well, I stopped saying that years ago. I thought, what a waste of a day or two, both in terms of the way my mind was working and how I was operating and the excuses I was making to not go do something that I'd want to do to maximize my time. So, over the years, I've really tested what I think works and what doesn't. And I have this simple, I think somewhat natural playbook, natural except for caffeine, we'll talk about that here in a moment. But simple playbook that helps me reset rather quickly. And so that when I land, I'm not gonna miss much. There's not sleep aids, there's not Ambien, these are just real habits. So let's talk about the 7 things that you can use to beat jet lag before it beats you. Number 1, I think that this is the most important thing you can do if you want to beat jet lag. It's land whenever the sun is out. Land when the sun's out. So, you're flying in somewhere, try to land during the day, especially if you're crossing multiple time zones. So, you want to book your flight accordingly. Like, red eyes, complete killers. If you can avoid them, I understand many take them because it creates some efficiency with your schedule or maybe it's a little cheaper flight usually. I'll tell you what though, I think you give it all right back when you're totally wiped out the next day. I want you to book your flight, make sure you're landing while the sun is up. Why? Because sunlight is the most powerful reset button for your body's internal clock. That's your circadian rhythm. So, even if I'm tired, even if I didn't sleep on the plane, I have to force myself to get outside as soon as I land. So I'll land, ideally the sun is still up. I'll get to the hotel, which is usually where I'm going to go. And I want to go get some light exposure. Even if the sun's not out, but it's daytime, even through the clouds, you get light exposure. And this tells your brain, "Hey, it's daytime now." And your body starts to catch up, your body starts to adjust. So if you're flying towards the east, so like I'm in Arizona, if I want to head east, I have to try to land in the morning or early afternoon. Usually, it's early afternoon because I have a few-hour time change if I'm going all the way East Coast like New York City or something like that. If you're flying west, I think late afternoon is ideal. So, spend as much time as you can at home. You're heading west. So, you travel west, land in the late afternoon. You gain a couple hours because of time change. So, number 1, land when the sun's out. Number 2, Not everybody will agree with this, but I swear by this. I've talked about it in previous episodes. I think when you get to the location, get outside, ideally barefoot if you can. This one's a little unconventional, but I'm telling you, it works for me. When I get somewhere and when I get to that hotel, I will literally try to find a piece of grass as soon as I get there, once I check in. So I get my feet in the grass as soon as I can, and I'm barefoot. And I ground, that's what it's called. Again, I know it's unconventional, some of you are probably rolling your eyes, but I really, really truly believe it helps me. There is some science behind this, specifically that grounding helps reduce inflammation and cortisol levels. But I don't do it necessarily for the science. I do it because honestly, it just makes me feel better. After sitting in a plane with recycled air and artificial light and, you know, all that's going on with the plane, I think it really kind of snaps me back to reality a bit. So, while I do feel physical benefit, I also think it's mental. It helps me kind of center myself, remind me, "Hey, I'm here now and it's go time. It's time to show up." So, number 1, land when the sun's out. Number 2, get outside and barefoot if you can. Number 3, Hydrate. Hydrate like you're a professional athlete. Reality is, we all know this, airplanes dry you out. That's not a figure of speech, it's a fact. That cabin air is dry, altitude messes with your system, and for many of us, if we're not purposeful, we end up drinking less than usual. We're not hydrating. So, I think hydration, is critical when you're on the road. I start hydrating before I even board. And I'm talking not just straight water, but electrolytes. Not the sugar-packed, you know, electrolyte hydration mixes. I'm just talking about straight electrolytes. There's a couple different great brands out there. And I'm drinking it all throughout the flight and after I land. No alcohol, no soda. I'm just talking about water and electrolytes. I think it's the easiest win when you're on the plane. And I think so many people just screw it up. Like we were not planned properly, so we're waiting for that cart to come by with a drink. And unfortunately, it's not nearly frequent enough, nor is that cup large enough. Hydration is such a major deal when it comes to jet lag. Number 4, when you land, Move. Get moving, even if it's just for 10 minutes. What do I mean? When I land anywhere, unless I've got something that's pressing and I can't make it happen, which from time to time this does occur, but when I land, I try to move and it doesn't matter to me if it's 7:00 AM or if it's midnight. What I mean is I got to get blood flowing. I will go outside and jog for 10 or 15 minutes, or I'll go to the gym at the hotel and ride a bike for 10 or 15 minutes. Worst case, I'll do a bodyweight circuit in the hotel room for 10 minutes. Push-ups, squats, lunges, whatever it is I can get in. Why? Because of two things. Number one, exercise raises your core temperature and raises your cortisol, which kind of tells your body, "I'm here. It's go time." Not necessarily something you always want when it's night, but even still I do it. Your system is pretty confused about what time it is, and I think that this helps center you. So, number 1, I like to raise the core temperature and the cortisol, right? Like, I like to get those things under control. But number 2, with respect to the 10 minutes, I don't know what it is. I can't exactly put my finger on the science here. I don't know it. But for whatever reason, even if it's middle of the night, if I get 10 minutes in, I swear I recover from any sort of jet lag much faster. And by the way, after hours of sitting in a seat, when you move after you've flown, you just feel better. Number 5, if you land late, fast, don't eat. In other words, don't eat just to eat. This is a big one for me. If I land late at night, which again, in almost every case, I'm going to try to land when the sun is still up. But there are times you can't make that happen. If I land late at night, I don't eat a late dinner just because I'm hungry or because the— maybe I'm on a flight and the airline hands me a tray of food. I actually fast. I push my first meal to the next morning when normal breakfast, local breakfast, would normally happen. Why is this? Well, that's because food is actually a circadian cue. As well, just like light. So, eating late at the wrong time for the new location, it just tells your body that you're on your old schedule. Fasting for me helps reset. It gives my body kind of this clean break. And then breakfast the next morning, it becomes kind of that first official step in the new time zone. I know this sounds goofy, I know it does, but I'm telling you, it's why I'm so purposeful around Managing jet lag, I don't want to give up the day. Last two, kind of same thing along eating, fasting, I'm sorry. Number 6 is eat on local time. If you land during the day, especially if you land early, do the opposite of what I just described. Don't fast. Immediately get on the local time schedule for eating. If it's noon and that's when you normally eat lunch, then go eat lunch. Even if the time you left, the time zone you left wouldn't be lunchtime, for example. Even if your stomach's not asking for it, again, food like light helps train your body clock. So you're telling your system, "It's breakfast now," or, "It's lunch now," or, "It's dinner now." And when you do that, your body starts to adapt faster. Now, don't snack based on where you came from either. Eat where you are, eat where you're at, like in terms of time zone. Number 7, and the last way to beat jet lag, is to actually strategically use caffeine, in my opinion, if it's something you normally use. I'm not saying introduce caffeine if you are not a normal caffeine user, but use caffeine like a pro, not like a junkie. I'm not anti-caffeine, I'm pro-strategy. So when I land, right, if I've got, you know, if I am feeling a little off, if everything I just described I'm still like, you know, struggling with energy, whatever, I may have a little bit of coffee just to make sure that I'm not going to fall asleep later in the day or whatever it may be. I'm trying to again reinforce the message that I'm here right now. So, I'm talking about a cup, maybe two. I'm not talking about a whole gallon of coffee. And I'm definitely going to cut it off early, like 2:00 PM local time for me. Like, I can't go beyond that. Because I don't want to mess up my first night of sleep. That's so imperative. That first night is a keystone. So you don't want to be, you know, tired to not make it through the day, but you also don't want to make it— mess up, mess up your sleep. So use caffeine strategically. So to wrap up the full playbook: land when the sun's out, number 1. Number 2, get outside immediately, barefoot if possible. Number 3, hydrate aggressively with electrolytes. Number 4, move your body for 10 to 15 minutes. Number 5, if you land late, fast. Don't eat a late dinner. Number 6, speaking of eating, eat on local time when you can. And then number 7, use caffeine strategically, not compulsively. This is how I travel. I think this is how I stay sharp, and it's how I think you can beat jet lag before it actually beats you. We do not waste days. We don't float through the fog. We land, we reset, and then we get to execution. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.