In electronic music, slowing down is accidentally rebellious.

The culture celebrates output: tracks, edits, mixes, gigs, socials, branding, momentum, consistency. We’re praised for how much we can push, how much we can make, how long we can stay awake, how fast we can bounce back.

But here’s the uncomfortable question most artists avoid:

When is your work ever actually “done”?

And when do you, as the human behind the decks, ever truly rest?

The short answer: you don’t. Not in the way your nervous system actually needs.

Late nights bleed into late mornings and gigs blur into studio sessions. Release cycles collapse on top of each other while sleep schedules disintegrate. Creativity and pressure get tangled together and the body just keeps up… until it doesn’t.

This article isn’t here to guilt you. It’s here to show you the flaw in the lifestyle our industry normalized, and the tiny 10-minute practice that re-calibrates everything.

For the last year, I’ve been spending more time in the park. Even though this has been enormously beneficial for me, I was often treating it like a “fit in some nature time” like it’s a task on a checklist.

Usually, I would take a book or some headphones, or just use the time to stretch and ‘do something’.

While the desire to spend more time in nature has been present all year, I was treating it the same way most artists treat rest: “I’ll get to it when I can.”

Some weeks I’d go three times then not at all for a month. Like, I'd gain momentum, then life would get busy, and eventually, I'd 'jump back on the wagon'.

Perhaps you’re familiar with this kind of cycle.

But two days ago, something shifted.

I went with no book, no phone, no headphones or blanket. I didn't stretch. I didn't task this as productivity.

Just me sitting with myself.

And I was reminded of hard truth I'd first learned years ago.

My so-called “rest” had become another form of doing.

It was another way to keep my mind occupied and avoid sitting with myself. It was another way to stay busy without looking busy.

Sound familiar?

DJs and producers are some of the busiest ‘resters’ on the planet.

We don’t decompress, we distract. We recover, but we don’t regulate. We tap out, but we don’t actually settle. We numb, but do we listen?

And stillness? True, eyes-open, grounded, present stillness?

That’s the state no one taught us to access, and it’s the exact state our nervous system is searching for.

Here’s what happened when I sat in the park with nothing to do:

My mind began firing:

“What should I be doing?”
“What needs to be done today?”
“What time am I training?”
“What am I cooking later?”
“Shouldn’t I be working right now?”

Classic artist brain 🙄🤣: Output addiction disguised as “normal life.”

But as I stayed still, something interesting happened.

The thoughts slowed down, my breath deepened and my body relaxed. Not because I made myself calm, but because I stopped giving my body and mind something to do.

The truth that many artists don't know: your mind is self-cleaning if you stop overstimulating it.

(The ‘not-so-scientific’ explanation about how your mind works!)

Imagine your mind is a pool of water.

If you constantly disrupt water by stirring it, or trying to flatten it with your hand, the water creates more ripples. But if you simply stop disrupting the water, it naturally becomes still- with zero effort.

Your mind works the same way. But modern life (especially electronic music life) means your mind NEVER stops being touched:

Phones, DMs, Music Projects, Mixing, Learning. Creative pressure, deadlines, schedules, obligations. Maybe even alcohol, drugs, caffeine and/or 'energy' drinks. They’re all things that ‘disrupt’ the water, so to speak.

It's all stimulation and noise awash with an undertone of expectation.

You’re constantly disturbing the water, and then when you 'rest', you turn on Netflix, scroll Instagram, grab a drink, a vape, a joint, or put on a podcast. It looks like downtime, but your mind is still active and the water (aka your mind) doesn’t really get a chance to truly rest.

This is one of the main reasons why someone’s mental health doesn’t improve long-term. It’s not because they’re broken, but rather because they’re overstimulated. Overstimulated because rest is often seen as unproductive.

A decade ago, my mental health was a mess: addicted to drugs and alcohol, bouts of depression, panic attacks most days and a steady hum of anxiety playing in the background. It was overwhelm and total inner chaos, and I couldn’t sit still.

Today, my mental health is excellent. Not because my life is perfect, but because I stopped outsourcing my peace to productivity, achievement or hustle.

I realised something electronic artists desperately need to hear:

You can’t create sustainably from a dysregulated nervous system.

Not long-term anyway. Not without sacrificing pieces of yourself.

Creativity is harder to access when you're fighting an internal battle. And your internal world? It is not separate from your body, which isn't separate from your nervous system.

This is all one instrument. It’s you.

And if you don’t maintain it… you (or your music) will eventually suffer.

Your joy will dim, your spark will dull, your life force will drain. Suddenly you’ll realise you’re living behind the mask of ‘the DJ’ or ‘the producer,’ not as yourself. Essentially, you’re performing, with an undercurrent of not knowing how long you can keep up this charade. Pretending like you’re killing it (on stage and online) yet suffering IRL.

You might be thinking:

“You don't understand! I can’t sit still and my mind races all the time. My schedule is insane! I have gigs, deadlines and responsibilities. If I don’t keep up, I fall behind, and if I stop or slow down, I won't make it."

I hear you. Because I’ve lived it.

And that’s exactly why you need this:

Every morning (before your phone, before messages, before the world touches you) sit down somewhere quiet.

No music or book or podcasts or journals. No emails or laptop or phone. Just sit the fuck down and breathe. Let the 'water' settle.

This isn't meditation per se. It's more nervous system decompression. It's more about learning how to be with yourself.

Here’s what will happen if you stick with it:

• Your thoughts lose their chaos.
• Your emotional baseline (or is it bassline 😉) becomes calmer.
• Your decisions get clearer.
• Your productivity skyrockets.
• Your creativity deepens.
• Your sleep improves.
• Your sense of self stabilizes.
• Your relationship with the industry changes.

This is what mentally healthy creatives do, and this is how you build longevity in the high-pressure music world.

Not by grinding harder, but by first finding alignment and inner peace.

They’re not the ones who necessarily push the hardest. They’re the ones who have a calm(er!) nervous system so they can produce better results with less effort.

Yes, there are plenty of successful artists without habits like this. But being successful in music doesn’t mean being happy or healthy or at peace. And what’s the point of that if the rest of your life is holding on by a thread?

You see, the less you’re at war with your mind, the more you’re in harmony with yourself and therefore your music.

Ten minutes a day.

That’s all it takes to start.

You starting with this is the biggest nod to your own self saying, “I deserve this.”

This is a rebellion against the hustle culture of the electronic music industry. Yet it's also restoration and what we've all been secretly craving.

It’s you returning to yourself and finally listening to your body, your mind, and what you actually need.

And it’s the foundation for everything you get to create next.

We’re entering a new era of electronic music. An era where artists prioritise their health just as much as their music.

HEADROOM enters the chat.

Every week, I share insights, stories and practical tools designed to help you stay focused on what matters most: your success, your well-being, and your longevity in the electronic music world.

This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a shift away from burnout-as-normal, and
the beginning of a culture where artists finally put their health and happiness first.

If you feel the industry is ready for an upgrade, and you want to be part of the culture that combine well-being with electronic music, then you’re in the right place.

Join HEADROOM below.
Because the world needs your music, not you burning out.

Let's build the future of electronic music together.