Acid Reflux And Sleeping

Acid Reflux And Sleeping

Acid Reflux And Sleeping

Acid reflux sufferers find that sleeping has a tendency to make this problem worse. It is has been estimated that 8 out of 10 people who have acid reflux problems and heartburn, have this at nighttime and during sleeping. Among the solutions and recommendations for treating and controlling the problem, sleeping on an acid reflux wedge pillow has been shown to be very effective.

The esophagus is supposed to carry food in one direction, from the mouth to the stomach. Once in the stomach enzymes and acid is made to digest the food and turn it into nutrients that the body can use. Your stomach has been designed to both handle and contain acid, however your esophagus is sensitive and can't.

When acid leaves the stomach, and moves back into the esophagus, you feel the sensation of heartburn caused by the acid reflux. When this is occasional, it isn't serious and can usually be relieved by an over the counter antacid. However, when this becomes a persistent and frequent occurrence, acid reflux can become GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Left untreated this can become a serious problem, leading to a number of other conditions, even including cancer of the esophagus.

When trying to prevent or treat acid reflux, some of the primary recommendations are: eating smaller meals for dinner, avoiding late night snacks, eating 2-3 hours before going to sleep, and waiting at least an hour before even lying down after eating.

The reasons for this are related to bigger meals requiring more acid and a longer time for digestion, resulting in more opportunity for acid reflux. This occurs because acid reflux is worse when lying down, and thus while sleeping when you are lying down the longest.

While you are reclined, the acid does not have to fight gravity to leave the stomach, and cam move back into the esophagus more easily. This is a reason why acid reflux may be worse in the morning, including the waking up with a cough, hoarseness, and sore throat. Hence, the recommendations for how much, and when you eat, before going to sleep.

And did you know that you should sleep on your left side? It has been shown that sleeping on your left side will help with the removal of stomach acid, while sleeping on your right side has a tendency to make heartburn worse.

Additionally, it is recommended that you sleep with your head and shoulders on an incline. This will help by not pushing the contents in the stomach against the lower esophageal sphincter, which is a muscle that is intended to prevent acid from going back into the esophagus. Simply lying on a pile of pillows to raise your head does not work in preventing acid reflux. Actually this may even make it worse, because when you only elevate your head, you have a tendency to bend the body in a way that the acid goes part way up your esophagus and gets trapped there.

You could try to raise the head of the bed with blocks in an attempt to create an incline. But the easiest, and probably most effective way to do this, is by sleeping on a wedge shaped pillow that has been specially designed to raise your head and shoulder to the proper incline.

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