Acid reflux is the uncomfortable burning sensation in your throat that almost feels like vomit. It hurts, it tastes and smells disgusting, and can wreak havoc on you sleep. Acid reflux causes symptoms like heartburn, regurgitation, or the feeling of having a lump in your throat - like it's difficult to swallow. Radiating chest pain can also be an uncommon symptom that lasts from minutes to hours and can cause people to wake up from their sleep. 

Continue reading to learn why acid reflux is late at night, its effects on your sleep, and what you can do to avoid these issues. 

Why Acid Reflux is Bad at Night 

Acid reflux, also known as G.E.R.D. is very common. Up to 1/3 of adults in the United States experience these symptoms, which is what happens when acid from the stomach returns to the esophagus. 

They can be as common as weekly, and can be very disturbing at night. One study found that adults with heartburn at night at least twice weekly experience trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

The reason that it happens so commonly at night as to do with gravity. If the process of G.E.R.D. is the backward flow of acid into the esophagus, then it would make sense that when you lie flat, it's easier for that process to happen. It also is harder for your digestive tract to clear the food out of your stomach so that way it enters your digestive system and cannot reflux.  

On top of the gravitational effects, your swallowing muscles are relaxed when you're asleep. This means that your esophagus is cleared less often and it's hard to neutralize the stomach acid. 

If you have other sleep-related conditions, such as acid reflux, then that can worsen G.E.R.D. Snoring can make reflux worse by causing more acid to irritate the throat, and it just puts you in an inflammatory state overall. 

Improving G.E.R.D. Symptoms 

Change your diet 

One way to improve your G.E.R.D. symptoms and get a better night's sleep is to manage what and when you eat. Diet can seriously impact the degree of your G.E.R.D. symptoms, and without major changes, you will continue to have these symptoms. 

Your diet can also improve other areas of sleep. The best diet for you to follow is a Mediterranean diet that is full of healthy and whole foods. Those who followed this diet increased their number of steps by 15% and had over a 50% reduction in the number of sleep apnea episodes. This is partly due to the role that weight plays in the development and persistence of sleep apnea. Therefore, by eating a health conscious meal, you can address that factor. 

Plant-based diets 90-95% of the time is ideal, but you cannot ignore the timing of when you eat these foods. It's important that the foods you consume right before bed consist of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and/or legumes. These foods are anti-inflammatory and less likely to irritate your stomach.

Products like dairy, spices, coffee, tea, chocolate, soda, alcohol, processed foods, and high carbohydrate count can significantly irritate the stomach and make it hard for you to sleep. 

Eat a small meal 

The other way to improve your G.E.R.D. symptoms is to keep your nighttime meals small. You should be eating your biggest meal for either breakfast or lunch. However, dinner should be fairly light and small. It's hard to go to sleep when your belly is bloated and painful. 

There also is not that much time to digest all that food if you eat dinner around 6 or 7 and go to bed around 9 or 10. It would be ideal for your body to be able to digest it and even produce a bowel movement before bed. The slower the digestion, the more acid reflux you are at risk for having. 

Drink alkaline water 

The reason acid reflux is so uncomfortable is because it is acidic; this burns the internal lining of your esophagus which does not have the productive lining that your stomach has. Therefore, by drinking alkaline water, you are able to change the pH of the liquids in your throat. Alkaline water has a pH above 7, which is the opposite of the pH of your stomach acid (around 2). This interaction creates a neutralization. 

Moderate exercise at the right time 

Exercising is great for you and your relationship with sleep. Also, being heavier does increase your risk for acid reflux. But, if you're going to exercise, you should avoid vigorous exercise at night. Not only does this raise your heart rate and blood pressure to the point where it is hard for you to relax enough for sleep, but the bouncing and jostling can trigger G.E.R.D. symptoms.

Intense core work, especially, can trigger these symptoms. Therefore, it's best to either avoid these movements or do them earlier in the day so your stomach has a chance to rest before it's time to go to sleep. 

Use OTC medications 

If you consistently experience heartburn, then you may need intervention through over-the-counter acid reflux medication. These tablets work the same as alkaline water, where they reduce the amount of stomach acid that you have.

This can help relieve some of your symptoms and protect the inner lining of your stomach. Be careful with overuse, as they can cause decreased absorption of certain nutrients like iron, calcium, B12, and medications.

Reducing Reflux in Bed 

Elevate your head

Work against gravity by sleeping with your head and upper body slightly elevated. you can use pillows to prop yourself up or having your actual bed frame just be higher. This is great if you can afford an adjustable bed. Even just raising your head above your toes can help get gravity back on your side.  

Sleep on your left side 

According to some, sleeping on your left side may help relieve some of those acid reflux symptoms. However, this rule is hard to generalize. Some people sleep really well on that side, while others really struggle to get comfortable. Try it out and see if it works for you.

Know when to see a doctor

Lifestyle and over-the-counter approaches are great, but it's important to know when it's time to see a doctor. Anytime your symptoms are becoming so frequent that they are waking you up, or you're having other symptoms like abdominal pain or changes in bowel movements, it's time to see a doctor. 

They will need to confirm that you are struggling from G.E.R.D. and not something potentially worse like Barrett's Esophagus or some cancers. 

You also may be experiencing acid reflux as a side effect of another activity or risk factor. These include: 

• Overweight 
• Pregnant 
• Tobacco or alcohol user 
• Over 40 

Working on losing weight, reducing substance abuse, or making other lifestyle changes may be helpful in the short-term, but it's important to remember that your physician can prescribe you medications like H2 blockers. These are drugs like Pepcid AC and Zantac. Another class is proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), also known as Prevacid and Prilosec. These can help decrease acid production and help heal damaged esophageal tissue. 

If you fall into the category of sleepers who are really struggling because of G.E.R.D., please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health professionals. 

https://www.sleep.com/sleep-health/seasonal-change-sleep