Online Undergraduate-Level Course
A Scientific Approach to Nutrition and Health for Performing Artists
12 Weeks
Level 2
3-Credit Tuition
$1,545Non-Credit Tuition
$1,290Whether you’re a musician on the road, a dancer, a touring actor, or active in the creative arts, what you eat and how you take care of your body has a direct effect on your artistic performance. Why is nutrition so important? Because artists have to handle high levels of physical and mental stress, and good nutrition is the foundation for health and wellness.
In this course you’ll learn principles of nutrition and understand why a balanced diet that includes macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins); micronutrients (vitamins and minerals); and adequate fluid intake is essential to fuel your body. You’ll also identify why, much like a professional athlete, your caloric intake and diet need to adapt to your performance demands. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to make informed decisions on food choices, and develop a critical mindset to evaluate nutritional claims.
Aside from nutrition, this course explores other pillars of health and wellness which are important to physical, psychological, and emotional health. These include maintaining your physical fitness on and off the road, sleep, stress management, and disease prevention. These principles, applied to your life, will provide you with the tools you require to have a healthy life and a long and sustainable career in the performing arts.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Discuss the scientific principles underlying basic nutrition, sleep, physical health, and mental health
- Recognize how the different pillars of health can affect each other positively or negatively
- Assess nutritional claims and make informed decisions on food choices
- Analyze and evaluate nutritional, sleep, physical, and mental health habits, patterns, and choices
- Experiment with evidence-based strategies to create a sustainable personal health and wellness plan that supports well-being in terms of nutrition, physical health, sleep, and mental health
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Introduction to Nutrition and the Scientific Method
- Introduction to Nutrition
- Energy and Calories
- Is Calorie Counting Effective?
- Carbohydrates
- Weight and Beauty
- Body Positivity and Body Neutrality
- Body Shaming in the Industry
- Information Literacy and Nutrition Science
- Buzzwords
- The Scientific Method
- Types of Research Studies
- ‘Show Me the Money!’
- Assignment 1: Nutrition Label Investigation
Lesson 2: Macronutrients
- Macronutrients: Carbohydrates
- What Are Carbohydrates?
- Complex Carbohydrates
- How Do I Find Carbohydrates on a Food Label?
- What is the Function of Carbohydrates and Why Are They Important?
- Healthy Carbohydrate Snacks for Performers
- Macronutrients: Proteins
- Function of Proteins
- Sources of Animal and Plant Protein
- Fats
- Function of Fats
- Types of Fat
- Workshop: Know Your Fats
- Daily Dietary Requirements
- Hydration
- What are the Sources of Dehydration During Performances?
- How Can I Tell if I’m Dehydrated?
- Assignment 2: Track Your Nutrition and Journal
Lesson 3: Micronutrients
- Vitamins
- Vitamin C (Water-Soluble Vitamin)
- Vitamin C and Collagen Production
- Vitamin C and Immune Function
- Vitamin D (Fat-Soluble Vitamin)
- Vitamin D and Bone Health
- Minerals
- Magnesium (Major Mineral)
- How Does Magnesium Affect Energy Levels?
- Iron (Trace Mineral)
- Where Do We Get Iron From?
- Micronutrients and the Health Supplement Industry
- Assignment 3: Micronutrient Action Plan
Lesson 4: Hunger, Satiety, Added Sugars, Ultra Processed Foods, and Eating On and Off the Road
- Hunger
- Satiety
- Added Sugars
- Soft Drinks
- Processed and Ultra-Processed Foods
- Hyperpalatable Foods and Why We Can’t Stop Eating
- Eating Healthy On and Off the Road
- Assignment 4: Journal—Developing Awareness and Mindful Eating Practices
Lesson 5: Alcohol and Drugs
- What is Alcohol?
- How Does Our Body Process Alcohol?
- What Does Alcohol Do to Our Brains?
- This Is Your Brain on Alcohol—Brain Structure and Volume
- Drinking and Making Bad Decisions
- Hangovers
- Seeking Help
- Drug Classification Based on the Legal Definitions
- After a Person Takes the Drug, What Next?
- Drugs and the Artist
- Drugs and Creativity
- Addiction and Recovery
- Changes to the Brain as a Result of Addiction
- Assignment 5: Healthy Tour Plan
Lesson 6: Physical Fitness
- Body Composition
- Methods to Assess Body Composition
- Other Factors Affecting Body Composition
- Cardiovascular Endurance/Aerobic Fitness
- The Heart and Its Basic Structure
- Importance of Aerobic Fitness for Performing Artists
- Aerobic Training and Mental Health
- Muscular Strength and Strength Training
- Strength/Resistance Training Definitions and Fundamental Principles
- Muscular Endurance and Core Exercises
- What Are Core Muscles And Why Do They Matter?
- Flexibility and Stretching
- What’s Happening in Your Muscles When You Stretch?
- Assignment 6: Fitness Tracking and Journaling
Lesson 7: Hearing Health
- Anatomy of the Inner Ear and Physiology of Hearing
- Introduction to Principles of Sound
- Hearing Protection
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Music-Induced Hearing Loss
- Hearing Loss Induced by Non-Sound Related Factors
- Assignment 7: Experiment: Decibel Awareness and Journal
Lesson 8: Common Injuries and Injury Prevention
- Introduction to Performing Arts Injuries
- Musculoskeletal Injuries in Performing Arts
- Vocal Health and Injury Prevention
- Psychological Well-Being and Injury Prevention
- Assignment 8: Case Study Analysis and Reflection—Injuries
Lesson 9: Stages of Sleep: The Sleep Cycle
- Insomnia
- Sleep Deprivation and Mental Health/Mood
- Sleeping on Tour
- Assignment 9: Sleep Tracking App or Sleep Journal and Reflection
Lesson 10: Stress
- Introduction to the Stress Response
- Physiological Effects of Stress
- Psychological Impact of Stress
- Relaxation Techniques for the Management of Stress
- Assignment 10: Daily Stress Management Technique Practice and Journal
Lesson 11: Anxiety and Performance
- Introduction to Anxiety
- Physiological Implications of Anxiety
- Nutritional Psychiatry: The Bidirectional Relationship Between Nutrition and Anxiety/Mood
- Performance Anxiety
- Assignment 11: Mood Tracker App or Mood Journal
Lesson 12: Mental Health and Resilience
- Introduction to Mental Health
- Neuroplasticity and Mental Health
- Resilience
- Introduction to the Scientific Basis of Meditation
- Assignment 12/Culminating Experience: Personalized Wellness Plan
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
Completion of College Writing or equivalent knowledge and experience is recommended.
Software
- Recommended: Apps to track the following:
- nutritional intake
- sleep patterns
- exercise
- sound pressure levels (SPL)
- mood tracking
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author & Instructor
Dr. Marcela Castillo-Rama is the Chair of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department at Berklee College of Music, where she has been awarded the Exceptional Faculty Award, the Dean’s Award for Pedagogical Collaboration and Resource Development, and the Dean’s Award for Innovation and Service. She has also served as interim Dean of the college’s Professional Education Division.
Dr. Castillo-Rama is a physician and a scientist, and has spent most of her career working in the liver transplant field. Prior to coming to Berklee, she was a medical doctor at Hospital Doce de Octubre in Madrid, Spain. She was also a researcher at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and at Boston Children’s Hospital at Harvard. Her research, which has been published in peer reviewed international journals, has focused on liver disease and the role of the immune system in transplant rejection.
Marcela received her medical degree from the University of Sheffield Faculty of Medicine in England and her PhD. and master’s degree in immunology with a focus on transplantation from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain. Read Less
What's Next?
When taken for credit, A Scientific Approach to Nutrition and Health for Performing Artists can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
