A midlife journey through perimenopausal insomnia reveals how control fuels hyperarousal, while mindfulness, compassion, and dharmic wisdom restore safety and sleep. The narrative integrates science—HPA-axis activation, sympathetic overdrive, and hormone-driven sleep fragmentation—with practical, evidence-informed strategies. It explains how self-compassion lowers cortisol and increases vagal tone, why clock-checking and catastrophic thinking perpetuate insomnia, and how cognitive…