Episode 173: The Insomnia Club Drop-out

What if insomnia isn’t the problem—but a signal that something deeper needs your attention?

Sleep scientist, functional medicine practitioner, entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed “sleep geek” Dr. Tara Youngblood has spent thousands of hours studying sleep. But after the devastating loss of her six-month-old son, Benjamin, grief, depression, and anxiety made the science deeply personal and pushed her to understand why so many of us struggle to rest. 

In this episode of Giving Pain Purpose, Tara and Lyndsay explore the complicated relationship between sleep, chronic pain, trauma, anxiety, and the nervous system. They get into the “busy brain” that refuses to shut off, how our sleep environment and nighttime habits can work against us, the role of temperature and deep sleep, prescription sleep aids, and why there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for better rest. 

For Lyndsay, who has lived with insomnia since childhood and now navigates CRPS and chronic pain, the question becomes deeply personal: how can a body heal when it never gets the chance to truly rest?

This isn’t another list of sleep hacks. It’s a conversation about understanding your body, challenging the stories you’ve built around sleep, and believing that better rest might actually be possible.