Colin Snow
Heartburn, a symptom of acid reflux, can be a painful and disruptive force that prevents many people from getting a good night's sleep. While over-the-counter and prescription medications can help, prevention is the best treatment. This involves understanding the causes of heartburn, which can vary from person to person, and making lifestyle changes to reduce the frequency and intensity of symptoms.
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What You'll Learn
Avoid trigger foods and drinks, such as alcohol, caffeine, and fatty foods
If you experience heartburn at night, it's important to identify and avoid trigger foods and drinks. Alcohol, for example, is known to trigger heartburn, and drinking it in the evening can worsen symptoms at night. Caffeine is another common trigger, so reducing your intake of coffee, tea, cola, and other caffeinated beverages may help improve your sleep quality.
Fatty foods are also known to cause heartburn. Greasy, fried, and spicy foods can trigger acid reflux, so it's best to avoid them, especially close to bedtime. Fatty foods take longer to digest, increasing the risk of acid reflux while sleeping. Additionally, they can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach acid to escape into the oesophagus.
Other trigger foods and drinks to be cautious about include chocolate, peppermint, garlic, onions, milk, citrus fruits, tomato products, and carbonated beverages. Keeping a food diary can help you identify specific triggers, as individual responses vary. This information can then guide your dietary choices to improve your sleep quality.
In addition to dietary changes, elevating your head and upper body while sleeping can also reduce acid reflux. Propping up the head of your bed or using a wedge pillow can help keep stomach acid from travelling up your oesophagus.
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Avoid eating large meals 2-4 hours before bedtime
Eating large meals close to bedtime can trigger heartburn. Lying down flat soon after a heavy meal can cause food and stomach acid to backflow into the oesophagus, leading to heartburn. To prevent this, the American Gastroenterological Association suggests avoiding meals two to three hours before bedtime. This allows the stomach to partially empty its contents before you sleep.
The amount of time between dinner and sleep is crucial in managing heartburn. Some sources recommend extending this period to three or even four hours. This gives the stomach ample time to empty itself, reducing the risk of acid reflux.
Elevating the head while lying down can also help. When sleeping flat, gravity is unable to assist in keeping stomach acid down, making it easier for reflux to occur. By raising the head of the bed or using a wedge pillow, you can utilise gravity to your advantage. This prevents acid from travelling up the oesophagus, reducing the occurrence and severity of heartburn.
In addition to timing your meals, it is important to be mindful of your food choices. Certain foods are known to trigger heartburn, and consuming them in the evening can lead to night-time heartburn. Common triggers include alcohol, caffeinated drinks, chocolate, fatty and spicy foods, acidic foods like citrus fruits or tomatoes, and carbonated beverages. Keeping a food diary can help identify specific triggers, allowing you to make informed dietary choices to improve your sleep quality.
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Sleep on your left side
Sleeping on your left side is one of the most effective ways to reduce the symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux at night. This is because the stomach is a curved organ, with most of its volume in the left side of the abdomen. When you lie on your left side, gravity helps to keep stomach acid down, preventing reflux.
A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that, while sleeping position did not affect the number of times participants experienced acid backing up into the oesophagus, the acid cleared much faster when participants were on their left side. This means less exposure to acid, which can reduce pain and the risk of tissue damage.
To help keep acid in your stomach while sleeping on your left side, you can also try propping up the head of your bed by around six inches. This will further help to keep acid in your stomach and reduce reflux. However, it is important not to achieve this elevation by stacking up pillows, as this can lead to back or neck pain and increase pressure on the stomach.
If you are experiencing heartburn at night, it is important to also consider other lifestyle factors that may be contributing, such as eating large meals or trigger foods close to bedtime, consuming alcohol or caffeine, wearing tight-fitting clothing, or spending too much time in front of screens in the evening.
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Elevate your upper body with a wedge pillow
Elevating your upper body with a wedge pillow is an effective way to prevent heartburn and acid reflux at night. When lying down flat, gravity is no longer helping to keep stomach acid in the stomach, and it can more easily travel up the oesophagus, causing a painful burning sensation. By raising the head of your bed by around six inches, you can use gravity to your advantage, helping to keep stomach acid down and reducing the occurrence of heartburn.
A wedge pillow is a specially designed pillow that naturally props up your head and neck, helping to keep acid in your stomach. This is preferable to simply using extra pillows, as stacking up pillows can lead to back or neck pain and may actually increase pressure on the stomach, exacerbating the problem.
Wedge pillows are available in a variety of sizes and angles, so it's important to choose one that suits your needs and sleeping style. Generally, you want to achieve an elevation of around six to eight inches, as this is sufficient to keep acid down without being so steep as to cause discomfort.
In addition to a wedge pillow, there are other ways to elevate your upper body while sleeping. You can elevate the head section of your bed by placing bricks or blocks under the bedposts, ensuring that your head is higher than your feet. This method may be preferable if you do not want to purchase a wedge pillow or if you find that a pillow does not provide enough elevation.
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Chew gum to encourage saliva production, which can soothe your oesophagus
Chewing gum is an effective way to soothe heartburn and acid reflux symptoms. It stimulates saliva production, which helps to neutralise stomach acid and prevent it from travelling up into the oesophagus. This is especially important at night, as saliva production decreases during deeper stages of sleep, allowing acid to pool in the oesophagus and cause discomfort.
Chewing gum for heartburn relief is most effective when combined with other measures. Firstly, it is important to avoid eating large meals or trigger foods two to three hours before bedtime. This gives the stomach time to empty itself and reduces the pressure on the abdomen, reducing the risk of stomach contents flowing back into the oesophagus. Common trigger foods include alcohol, caffeinated drinks, chocolate, fatty and spicy foods, and acidic foods like citrus fruits and tomatoes. Keeping a food diary can help to identify specific triggers.
Secondly, it is beneficial to elevate the head and upper body while sleeping. This can be achieved by propping up the head of the bed or using extra pillows to lift the head six to eight inches higher than the abdomen. Elevating the head harnesses the power of gravity to prevent acid from travelling upwards and reduce the severity of heartburn symptoms.
Finally, certain medications can help to relieve heartburn by reducing stomach acid. These include over-the-counter histamine-2 (H2) blockers, such as PEPCID®, and antacids, which should be taken well in advance of bedtime. If symptoms persist or are frequent, it is important to consult a doctor, as heartburn can be a sign of more serious conditions.
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Frequently asked questions
There is no single solution that works for everyone, but there are some meaningful steps you can take to relieve heartburn and get a better night's sleep. These include:
- Sleeping on your left side
- Elevating your head and upper body with a wedge pillow
- Avoiding meals, alcohol, and carbonated drinks close to bedtime
- Quitting smoking
- Taking over-the-counter medications such as antacids or PEPCID®
- Keeping a food diary to identify and avoid trigger foods
The stomach is a curved organ with most of its volume in the left side of the upper abdomen. When lying on your left side, gravity helps keep stomach acid down, reducing the risk of reflux.
Heartburn at night, also known as acid reflux, can be caused by several factors, including:
- Eating large meals or lying down too soon after eating
- Consuming certain foods and drinks, such as alcohol, fatty or greasy foods, spicy foods, chocolate, and carbonated beverages
- Tight-fitting clothing that puts pressure on the abdomen
- Medications, including NSAIDs, osteoporosis drugs, heart and blood pressure drugs, and hormone medications
