What if insomnia isn’t simply the problem, but a signal that something deeper is keeping your body from truly resting?
Dr. Tara Youngblood recently joined host Lyndsay Soprano on the Giving Pain Purpose podcast for a powerful conversation about sleep, chronic pain, stress, trauma, and what happens when the body struggles to fully switch off.
The episode, appropriately titled “The Insomnia Club Drop-out,” goes far beyond the usual list of sleep tips.
Sleep Is More Than Closing Your Eyes
We often think about sleep in simple terms: Did I get eight hours? Did I fall asleep quickly? Did I wake up during the night?
But quality sleep is influenced by much more.
During the episode, Tara and Lyndsay explore the connection between sleep and the nervous system, including the “busy brain” that refuses to quiet down at night, the impact of our sleep environment, temperature and light, chronic pain, stress, and the different stages of sleep.
For people dealing with chronic pain, anxiety, or ongoing stress, sleep can become especially complicated. When your body feels like it constantly needs to remain alert, simply telling yourself to “relax and go to sleep” usually isn’t much of a solution.
Understanding why your body is struggling to rest can be an important part of changing your relationship with sleep.
When Sleep Science Becomes Personal
For Tara, the study of sleep has never been only academic.
Her journey into sleep science became deeply personal following the loss of her six-month-old son, Benjamin. That experience, and the grief, depression, and anxiety that followed, pushed her to better understand why our minds and bodies can struggle so much with rest.
That personal experience, combined with thousands of hours studying sleep, has shaped the way Tara approaches the subject today: not as a one-size-fits-all formula, but as something deeply individual.
Because there isn’t one perfect bedtime routine, sleep position, temperature, or trick that works for everyone.
There are, however, things we can learn about our bodies and our environments that can help us create better conditions for rest.
From Sleep Research to Geli Sleep
The conversation also dives into innovation in sleep technology and the work behind Geli Sleep.
At Geli, we believe your sleep environment should be able to adapt to you rather than forcing you to adapt to it.
That idea is at the heart of the Geli Sova and the work Tara and the Geli team continue to do around personalized comfort, temperature, pressure relief, and better sleep experiences.
During the podcast, Tara shares more about that journey, how Geli came to be, and why continuing to ask better questions about sleep matters.
Listen to “The Insomnia Club Drop-out”
Whether you struggle with insomnia yourself, live with chronic pain or stress, or simply want to understand your sleep a little better, this conversation is worth a listen.
Tara and Lyndsay get into the science, the personal experiences behind it, and something we strongly believe at Geli:
Better sleep starts with understanding what your body actually needs.
Ready to dive into the conversation?
Listen to Dr. Tara Youngblood on Giving Pain Purpose and discover a different way to think about sleep, pain, and what your body needs to truly rest.
Listen on SpotifyAfter you listen, we’d love to know what stood out to you and whether the conversation changed the way you think about your own sleep.