Chilina Kennedy and The Science of Comfort

Actress Chilina Kennedy had a night that most of us can only imagine: Portraying one of her heroes, on Broadway, while that hero sat in the audience watching. As the star of Beautiful: The Carole King Story, Chilina did hundreds of shows as the legendary singer/songwriter. However, our guess is that if you look up the word "pressure", there's probably a picture of Chilina the night before.

(Turns out we'd be wrong, according to Chilina.)

How do you fall asleep in a situation like that, when you have such a massive day ahead of you? We start exploring that question with people from all walks of life, both famous folks and the everyday people you're probably in line with to get your coffee. For her part, Chilina swears by a calm, comfortable environment when she's trying to sleep - she adds relaxation exercises and body scan processes not only for herself, but for her young son as well.

But what does the science say?

Enter Dr. Michael Grandner from the University of Arizona, who talks about the difference between relaxation and sleep, and looks at the science behind the routine Chilina has been using for years.

In addition, we talk to Michael about something called "sleep friendly ice cream", and Neil's #Beditorial looks at media articles and segments that don't give sleep the attention and seriousness it deserves, by highlighting products with ill-informed claims that offer false hope, and by shunning science in pursuit of click-baity headlines.

Plus, we preview next week's show, and give you a peek at the special guest who joins us for the April 19th episode, as we continue talking to people who had to fall asleep the night before a massive day.

Linkapalooza

Get the latest on Chilina Kennedy and what she's working on (including an exciting new musical) here.

Learn more about the "sleep-friendly ice cream" by going to Nightfood's website here.

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