THIS IS 50
GETTING YOUR Z’S
Awake at 3 A.M. Again?
Even good sleepers can start experiencing insomnia in their 50s. Here’s expert advice on how to cope
Cut the booze
Alcohol “lingers longer in our system when we’re 50,” says Alicia Roth, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. Even if a nightcap helps you get to sleep, it could wake you up later, because alcohol can suppress deep sleep.
Get tested for apnea
For women, obstructive sleep apnea often emerges in perimenopause, says Brandon Peters, M.D., a neurologist in Seattle specializing in sleep disorders. Symptoms include snoring and waking up gasping.
Schedule worry
Sandwich-generation stressors can wake you up, says Cathy Goldstein, M.D., a sleep medicine physician at the Michigan Medicine Sleep Disorders Center. She suggests a “wind-down” in a separate room to get worries out of your system.
Roll with it
Older bodies require less sleep, says Chris Winter, M.D., author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It. If you’ve lain awake for 20 minutes, go do something quiet in dim light. Then try again. —Eric Spitznagel
SHOP CULTURE
MEET THE NEW MALL
SHOPPING MALLS were the place to eat, shop and stare at big hair in the ’80s—and Gen Xers miss them. In a recent survey, 66 percent said they wished traditional shopping malls would make a comeback (just 54 percent of boomers said the same). Of course, malls haven’t all gone away, they’re just different. Here’s what’s trending.
✔ Indoor sports Retailers are luring visitors with physical activities including yoga, pickleball, ice-skating and virtual golf.
✔ Play areas The Springfield Town Center mall in Virginia recently opened a 32,000-square-foot Lego Discovery Center (above) with playrooms and a Lego world built out of 1.5 million bricks.
✔ Pop-up stores They’re not just for Halloween costumes and calendars anymore.
✖ Arcades Home video consoles drove them to extinction.
✖ Fountains Most shopping centers eliminated water features to reduce costs. (Who still carries pennies to make a wish, anyway?)
✖ Old standbys Familiar retail chains like Kinney Shoes, Merry-Go-Round, Sam Goody and Wicks ‘N’ Sticks are long gone.
MALL SURVIVORS
Orange Julius This classic is now a smoothie sold at Dairy Queen.
Spencer’s Still has bedroom toys that’ll make you blush. —Ken Budd
WISDOM
Patton Oswalt
Q: How has your comedy changed over the years?
A: Everything I do in life affects my comedy, including being a dad in my 50s.
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?
A: Don’t get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. This is a marathon, not a footrace. It’s got to be about doing stuff that you’re happy with.
Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt, 55, is the host of the new game show The 1% Club on Prime Video and Fox. Read his interview with Linda Childers at aarp.org/quickquestions.