I have a 15 yr old JR who is in good health, walking at least an hour a day, eating fine etc, but sight and hearing poor.  However he  barks when I leave the room and in the middle of the night ! Is there anything I can give him to help me have a nights sleep? Thanks in advance

Does he have a light on at night ?
Those with poor eyesight sometimes appreciate it.

Yes! He insists in sleeping in my bedroom which is fine, but still has to get up around 5am and go downstairs. Sometimes he needs out, which he can do himself through the dog flap , sometimes he just wants to go downstairs, and then he barks for me to join him- or else ! He just keeps barking......

I’m sure I wrote more in the last reply but it has disappeared! I put a light on the stairs as he did stumble a while back and I don’t want him to hurt himself. He ‘ thinks’ he cannot come back up the stairs by himself  . So when I hear him awake and up, I carry him down nowadays, (even with the light on the stairs) but if I wait and bring him back up ( after he’s been outside, tho sometimes he doesn’t even want to go out) he just goes down again. And even if I put on the kitchen light for him, it only works for 10 mins and then the barking starts. I’ve tried later to bed, no difference. 5.15 - 5.45  seems to be the witching hour when he HAS TO BE UP !
The stairs light does shine into the bedroom a bit.

What if you give him a nice chewy treat (those that last longer to chew) once he's been out in the morning he can settle in the kitchen and chew and that may tire him to fall asleep once the chewing is done.

Has he had a vet check recently?  It could be sore joints or some other complaint, or maybe even a touch of cognitive disfunction setting in, given his age.  Evening/nighttime tend to be the worse times for this and barking is a common symptom, as I understand it.

Sometimes the elderly dog does start this behaviour - it's almost as if they are saying 'I'm still here'!!     Sometimes as they start to lose hearing and sight, this can start.  I note you say this is happening.  I think you just have to deal with this as best you can - sometimes our oldies become as time-consuming to look after as when they were puppies.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. I’m going to bed earlier and hopefully with an ‘earlier in the night’ outing , he will then settle back to sleep! It worked last night, just one visit out at 3am and then he slept til 6.30! I do have another dog, a Parson Russell who is 4 months younger, but so far so good with her! Thanks again!