The vast majority of those who suffer from heartburn suffer from nighttime heartburn. Most people do not enjoy sleeping while sitting up or standing so there are some other options available to treat nighttime heartburn. Heartburn occurs when acid from your stomach refluxes into your esophageal passage. Many times s weak sphincter will not be able to keep the acid in your stomach when it is very full or the pressure is increased by gas.
You can prevent nighttime heartburn by not eating before you go to bed. It is recommended that your last meal should be about 2 to 3 hours before you go to sleep. Nighttime snacking is not going to help. Also you can switch your main meal from dinner to lunch so you have less food in your stomach at night and therefore less acid production and less pressure.
You should have your largest meal in the middle of the day instead of at night, or your can spread your meals out to 4 or 5 smaller ones throughout the day. This will reduce the pressure in your stomach at night.
As with any type of heartburn you need to avoid those foods that give you heartburn. Every individual will have different foods that bother him or her and cause heartburn. You should keep a food diary to determine which foods cause problems. Foods such as citrus fruits, coffee, spicy foods, juices, beans, and chocolate have all been known to aggravate heartburn.
Sleeping on a slight incline, so your head and shoulders are above your stomach, can also help stop nighttime heartburn. This can help add a bit more gravity pull to your stomach so it has a harder time pushing up to the esophagus. Also it has been scientifically proven that sleeping on your right side makes heartburn worse. You should sleep on your left side as this does not impede digestion and can decrease you nighttime heartburn.
Sleeping in restrictive or tight clothing can make it difficult to digest food or increase pressure in your stomach and force acid into the esophagus. Also drinking alcohol late in the day and at night will relax your sphincter and increase acid production in the stomach promoting conditions for heartburn. It is possible to consume alcohol without getting heartburn but you may need to do this at a specific time of day or chose a specific type of alcohol that does not affect you as much.
If you have tried many types of treatments for your heartburn and have not found any relief then you should go see your doctor as you may have a more serious health issue. Avoid prolonged use of antacids as these tend to obscure symptoms of other conditions.
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