Chilina Kennedy and The Science of Comfort
48m | Apr 5, 2021In this episode
- Why sleep headlines and affiliate-driven product claims deserve more scrutiny
- What the evidence did — and did not — say about white noise in 2021
- Why a 5:30 a.m. productivity routine tells you almost nothing without bedtime and total sleep duration
- The corrected eight-year comparison from Adrian Owen’s sleep-and-cognition study
- How the pandemic interrupted Chilina Kennedy’s theatre work
- Why portraying Carole King felt different from playing a fictional character
- The difference between Kennedy’s Broadway debut and the later night Carole King secretly attended
- Why Kennedy specifically did not want to know when famous people were in the audience
- “Tomorrow doesn’t happen until tomorrow” as a way of reducing performance anxiety
- How Kennedy responds when she cannot sleep without turning wakefulness into an emergency
- Reading, guided imagery, body scanning and calm bedtime routines
- How she uses the same principles with her son
- Grandner’s distinction between relaxation and actually inducing sleep
- Why one bad night does not have to become two
- Where Kennedy’s routine overlaps with behavioral insomnia treatment
- What Nightfood meant by “sleep-friendly ice cream” — and what happened to the company afterward
- How Kennedy’s musical Call It Love evolved into Wild About You
About Chilina Kennedy
Chilina Kennedy is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and musical-theatre creator. She is best known for playing Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway for more than 1,200 performances, with additional Broadway and Off-Broadway credits including Paradise Square and The Great Gatsby. She is an Artistic Producer Emeritus of Toronto’s Eclipse Theatre Company. Her musical project discussed in this episode as Call It Love later evolved into Wild About You, with music and lyrics by Kennedy.
About Dr. Michael Grandner
Michael Grandner, PhD, MTR, CBSM, FAASM, is Director of the Sleep and Health Research Program and Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Arizona. His work examines how sleep and circadian health affect cardiovascular disease, mental health, performance and public health, with particular attention to the real-world social and behavioral forces that shape sleep.
MENTIONED
Chilina Kennedy
Kennedy’s official site and current work.
Wild About You
The musical discussed in this episode as Call It Love continued development under a new title.
Eclipse Theatre Company
The Toronto theatre company Kennedy helped build and where she is now Artistic Producer Emeritus.
Dr. Michael Grandner — University of Arizona
Grandner’s current faculty profile and research roles.
Behavioral and Psychological Treatments for Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults
The 2021 American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline covering CBT-I, stimulus control, relaxation therapy and related treatments.
Noise as a Sleep Aid: A Systematic Review
The 2020 review behind the episode’s skepticism about universal white-noise claims.
White Noise and Sleep — 2025 Meta-analysis
A later randomized-trial meta-analysis finding benefits in some populations while substantial heterogeneity remained.
Dissociable Effects of Self-Reported Daily Sleep Duration on High-Level Cognitive Abilities
The Adrian Owen study referenced in the Beditorial, including the published eight-year cognitive-performance comparison.
