How do you keep your health in check as a dj?

It can be a b*tch if you let it go out of control (I speak from experience). In my profile pic I was back to being around 80kg. Only a year before that I was in Germany working full time 9-3 6 days a week and I went from 84 to 98 kg in about 4! months.

Alcohol is a real killer, I stopped drinking on the job. Regularity worked for me. In my eating roster, in my wake up times and such.

Eating before going to bed is notoriously bad. Your body needs to go into repair mode if you go to sleep and it can’t do that if there is still food that needs digesting. So don’t eat anything a few hours before going to bed (2-3 hours or so).
Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast, a light lunch and a meal that will get your through the night. Eat the meal about an hour before you start DJ-ing. Enough time to let it settle and the digesting begin, yet short enough that you get the energy from it.

I never needed to blind my windows or anything. My head hit the pillow and I slept. But if you can’t because of noise (neighborhood kids playing, birds whistling and such) or the light (sun) then yes, close your windows and get some blackout shades. If you prefer the fresh air (I do), you can try sleeping with earplugs in. I hate those “airplane masks”, but they might work for you as an alternative to blackout shades.

Set an alarm to keep you in that routine (if you sleep at 4 pm and 8 hours is enough sleep for you, set your alarm for 12) Make the first meal the breakfast and space the other two as suggested. If you don’t set the alarm, you’ll end up losing the routine. Easier for your biorhythm this way.

Good luck and greetinx,
C.

I generally keep my bedroom dark. In my book it’s a place for sleep in the darkness, or sex by candlelight.

Eating right isn’t just about DJing, but life in general. I’d tell you to really “watch it” when you get off at 4AM and the urge for greasy junkfood hits. Find a way around it.

Sleep hopefully happens. You get home and into bed at maybe 5AM, sleep 6-7 hours, then get up and do stuff so you hopefully come down to a normal schedule. If DJing is your only work, then change up your schedule to sleep mornings and stay up late. If not, then it’s always a challenge getting ready to go back to the 9-5.

I’d also be careful when it comes to alcohol. Well drinks and cheap booze will make you sick. If you need a drink, go for top shelf and sip it slowly. Savor it. Pure, high-quality stuff won’t mess up your body. If your venue serves coffee and other stuff, have that. I’ll usually drink water, club soda, or cranberry juice…which surprises many bartenders.

Other than that, give your body a break to cleanse. If you spent the evening in a hot, sweaty, loud place (worse if it’s full of second hand smoke) then go get fresh air, peace, and quiet. I’ll listen to symphony music or smooth jazz on the way home, and stay away from it all the next day to let my ears mend.

Hence why I don’t Drink, Smoke or do drugs. As a matter of fact no dj should drink, smoke or do drugs but the club scene is full of that.

Recently started playing out of town almost every weekend and have to drive between hometown and other city myself. I’m never home before 5:30 in the morning. Driving means no alcohol at all but this turns every gig that is 4-5 hour gigs + driving makes it 7-8 hours from leaving home till I’m back home. Lots of pepsi max and maybe 1 or 2 redbulls then straight to bed when I get home. My son wakes my up again around 10 so not much sleep.
But I’ve lived this way for a long time and have no problems with little sleep.
I think DJ life is something you get used to or it will wear you down in no time.

This has been my biggest issue for years.

Since my ‘day job’ has more or less been a graveyard job, one would think that it would have been a more natural progression. However, this has not been the case.

Invariably, there is always something to do (family, friends, errands) that have to be accomplished during the odd hours of the day where you are used to sleeping. And oftentimes that includes ‘swinging’ hours on the fly. This causes many speed freak (minus the speed) days of 24-36 hour days, followed by 12 or more hours of sleep after the ‘crash’.

Noisy neighbors and paper thin walls have not helped matters, but, as Chuck says, earplugs are a Godsend.

From a dietary perspective, being a semi ‘health nut’ that doesn’t smoke tobacco or drink alcohol might offset the damage, but honestly, as I get longer in the tooth, I worry about the lifestyle taking its toll.

I think that the guys above have it nailed. The key is vigilance.

Uhm … I think they are talking about “normal” guys, Terry …

Ohhhh ..:(