How To Prevent Acid Reflux Heartburn At Night
Acid reflux can happen to us at any time of the day, with symptoms like heartburn occurring after we have eaten a large meal or when lying down.
Interestingly, about 75% of the heartburn sufferers actually experience acid reflux symptoms at night. You maybe wondering why heartburn acid reflux occurs often at night.
Here are some reasons to why it is more likely to occur while you sleep.
- Relaxed lower esophageal sphincter (LES) – when you sleep all of the muscles in your body naturally relax, which can encourage acid to leak into your esophagus.
- Absence of swallowing - During sleep, the swallowing reflex is inhibited. Swallowing allows saliva to neutralize any digestive fluids that may be in the esophagus lining.
- Laying flat – laying flat in your bed enables stomach acid to easily flow into the esophagus and remain in the esophagus for a longer period of time, which can lead to heartburn.
So how to we stop the nighttime acid reflux symptoms from disrupting your beauty sleep?
Here are some ways which you can try.
1. Eat 3 hours before going to bed. Avoid late night snacking and make sure that your dinner is a moderate portion. Please take your big meal during lunchtime instead.
2. Avoid foods and beverages that are known to trigger acid reflux (I.E. high fat foods, citrus fruits, caffeinated beverages, alcohol, etc.) Limit your liquid intake to water before bed.
3. Sleep on an incline. Prop your head and shoulders up with a few pillows or a wedge pillow so that you are not lying flat on your back. The slight slope you create with your body helps to prevent acid from traveling further up your esophagus and remaining there to initiate heartburn.
4. Sleep on your left side. Some studies have found that sleeping on the left side can aid acid reflux nighttime prevention, as this position appears to help remove stomach acid from the esophagus. On the other hand, sleeping on the right side has shown to make heartburn worse.
5. Sleep in loose fitting clothes. Clothing that is constricting around your torso, especially your abdomen or waist, such as tight elastic pants, places pressure on the stomach which can force digestive contents and fluids against the LES and up into the esophagus.
6. Take an antacid or your heartburn medication before going to bed. Although your first “what to do for acid reflux” instinct shouldn’t be to take medications, if your nighttime heartburn is exceptionally bothersome, taking an antacid or two before bed will work to quickly neutralize acid and treat your symptoms or prevent an episode from occurring. If longer relief is necessary, an H2 blocker may be more effective.
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