An Evening Routine for Better Nights After 50

Most men notice their sleep changing somewhere in their fifties: it's lighter, it ends earlier and it's broken more often. Some of that is simply age. But the evening that comes before it has a bigger effect than most of us give it credit for, and the evening is something you control.

The two-hour routine

1. Fix your bedtime and wake timeThe same times every day, weekends included, do more for sleep than almost anything else. Start with the wake time; bedtime follows.
2. Taper your drinksDrink well through the day and slow down two to three hours before bed. Fewer trips to the bathroom mean fewer chances to wake fully.
3. Finish caffeine by early afternoonCaffeine lingers for hours. If you love an afternoon coffee, try switching to decaf after lunch for two weeks and see.
4. Go easy on the nightcapAlcohol makes it easier to fall asleep but makes the second half of the night lighter and more broken.
5. Dim the lights and cool the roomLower the lights an hour before bed. A cool, dark, quiet bedroom suits most sleepers best.
6. Swap the screen for something slowRead, stretch gently, listen to something calm. Keep the phone out of reach of the bed.

Daytime habits that help the night

• Morning light. Ten to twenty minutes outside early in the day helps set your body clock.
• Movement. A daily walk is linked with better sleep. Finish hard exercise a few hours before bed.
• Short naps only. If you nap, keep it under thirty minutes and before mid-afternoon.

When to talk to your doctor

If you snore loudly, wake gasping, feel sleepy during the day despite a full night in bed, or get up two or more times a night to use the bathroom, raise it at your next checkup. Those patterns have several possible causes, and some are easy to address once they're found.