184: Todd & Tara Youngblood – Chilling Your Way to Better Sleep

Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!

Before we get started, I want to ask you a few questions: How much sleep do you get at night? Do you feel well-rested and energized to work on your Creative Alchemy? Getting a good’s night sleep is essential for our art, but we often overlook getting a full, effective night’s sleep when we’re busy. 

Today’s show is all about sleep and how getting the best quality sleep can improve your Creative Alchemy. I’m also discussing a revolutionary product that has significantly improved my sleep quality. The product is called the chiliPAD, and I cannot recommend it enough. I’m thrilled to have the chiliPAD inventors Todd and Tara Youngblood on today’s show, and we’re talking all about how you can improve the quality of your sleep. You’re going to learn all about creating a recipe for improving your sleep, how to develop your own sleep routine, and how getting quality sleep is more important than the quantity of sleep. 

If you’re looking to optimize your sleep for maximum creativity, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Who Are Todd and Tara Youngblood?

Todd and Tara Youngblood are the creators of the chiliPAD, a pad that sits on top of your mattress that regulates your core body temperature. This device is so cool (literally) because it uses tiny tubes that run water through the pad, and you can set the water temperature to whatever you want. I actually discovered the device a few years ago through my friend, Matt Gallant, and it has completely changed the way I sleep. 

Todd and Tara are based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They created their brilliant chiliPAD back in 2007, and they later founded their company Kyro, Inc. in 2016 based around their “Chili Technology.” In addition to the chiliPAD, they also sell the chiliBLANKET, which utilizes chiliPAD cooling and warming technology and functions as a weighted blanket.  

In addition to co-founding Kyro, Inc., Tara also authored the book Reprogram You Sleep: The Sleep Recipe that Works, which expertly gives readers knowledge and advice on optimizing their sleep schedules. 

In 2008, Todd and Tara suffered the tragedy of losing their youngest son. As a result, Tara began suffering from severe insomnia and depression. By the end of 2009, she had hit rock bottom with her sleep schedule. She researched and developed a full sleep recipe for herself that saved her sleep schedule. Tara and Todd have a ton of expert advice from their research that will improve your sleep, so let’s get started! 

The Recipe for Better Sleep

We began our interview by discussing the science behind getting better sleep and how the chiliPAD meets our sleep needs. The key to better sleep starts with our chronotype: 

“[Chronotype] is a fancy way of talking about your body clock or circadian rhythm. And it sort of looks at what kind of sleeper you are, [like] a morning person [or] night owl [and] when you should go to sleep.” 

- Tara Youngblood

There are different kinds of chronotypes, so discovering your best sleep is not a one-size-fits-all process. It takes research and self-discovery. It’s essential to discover your chronotype because then you can find your sleep switch. 

“Figuring out that ideal timing, and the magic of that really comes in figuring out something called your sleep switch. … Our neurons are triggered to sleep if we trigger them in the right window [of time] with temperature.”

- Tara Youngblood

We can trigger our sleep by adjusting our internal temperatures. This process of our internal temperature changing comes from our...