Sleep recovery specialist and sports scientist Barry Bridges and Resurrected Youth Radio aim to make an impact on the lives of DJs and music producers. They have created the first ever online DJ performance programme within the music space.
The online programme, which is a blend of learning and coaching, entails seven weekly sessions, including audio MP3 recordings and a masterclass video recap at the end of the programme.
Weekly sessions incorporate different subjects around sleep, chronobiology, recovery, recovery nutrition, cognitive fitness, movement exercises, sleep diary analysis, stress management and warm-up strategies.
Bridges, from Cape Town, said the programme would help DJs and music producers unlock their true potential.
“The brain is the moneymaker, and in order to keep the brain healthy and creative, they need to take care of their quality of sleep, eating habits, exercise and mental state.
“Burnout is a real thing within the music space, especially the dance music scene.
“If you think about it, DJs can be classified as cognitive performers or cognitive athletes. They need to be performing during the day and be creative at night.
“Their workload doesn't stop, so we need to educate them on how to manage their energy output and recovery during the day so they can control stress and fatigue,” he said.
The idea for the programme came about when Bridges researched the issues DJs and music producers face. He said a lot of the research focused sleep deprivation, burnout and stress.
“This is when I decided to launch a marketing campaign with Resurrected Youth Radio to test if there was a need for my services.
Managing director of Johannesburg-based Resurrected Youth Radio Kopano Maboe said the collaboration with Bridges was groundbreaking for them.
“We want to be such an innovative problems today, and associated with brand, solving that's what the
programme is doing,” he said.
He added that from the perspective of a DJ or music producer, prioritising sleep might not seem like the most urgent need amid the hustle and bustle of the industry.
“The goal isn't merely to improve our sleep routines; it's to revolutionise our approach to health and wellbeing, both on and off the stage,” he said.
For more information about the programme, email: [email protected].