It's Not Anxiety It's Biology-Sleep Hormones and the 3am Wake.

In this episode I cover:Why estrogen and progesterone are your two most underappreciated sleep hormones — and what happens to your sleep architecture when they declineAllopregnanolone — the natural sedative built into your own hormonal cycle that most people have never heard ofThe cortisol-melatonin seesaw — why these two hormones directly antagonise each other, and why the cortisol morning surge arrives at 3am in perimenopause and menopauseThe SWAN study — what 40–60% of women actually experience during the menopausal transition, and why most of them minimise itCognitive hyperarousal — how the bed becomes an anxiety cue, and what CBT-I does about itSleep environment — the evidence behind consistent wake time, bedroom temperature, blue light, and alcoholCaffeine — half-life, the adenosine mechanism, the CYP1A2 genetic variation, and why 2pm is your cutoffExercise — zone two as your sleep best friend, why HIIT belongs in the morning, and the 2023 circadian rhythm dataSupplements — magnesium glycinate (Abbasi et al. 2012), melatonin (prescription-only in Ireland), ashwagandha KSM-66 (Salve et al. 2019), and L-theanineSleep teas and lavender — honest about the evidence, honest about what they're actually useful forMenopausal hormone therapy — why for the right woman, nothing else comes closeSauna — the thermoregulation mechanism, cortisol reduction data, and why I've started using it myselfMy own sleep protocol — what I actually do at 51, including the stuff that doesn't always work