Is a burning sensation in your chest or throat preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep? If so, you might have acid reflux. Also known as heartburn, this common condition tends to act up at night.
Learn why acid reflux is worse at night. And if you’re wondering how to stop heartburn at night, try these home remedies. They can help tame the flame so you can get a good night’s sleep.
What Is Acid Reflux?
Acid reflux happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus —the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. It causes pain or a burning sensation in the middle of your chest. Although it’s often called heartburn, acid reflux doesn’t have anything to do with your heart.
It happens due to a problem with the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscle between your esophagus and stomach. Your LES acts like a valve that opens to allow food to pass into your stomach and closes afterward.
Usually, your LES closes tightly after eating or drinking which keeps stomach contents in your stomach where they belong, but if your LES is weak or is not functioning correctly it can’t close tightly. This can then allow stomach acid to enter your esophagus and cause acid reflux and its associated symptoms.
Acid reflux can cause these symptoms:
- A painful, burning feeling in the middle of your chest, behind your breastbone. It often starts at the lower tip of your breastbone and rises toward your throat.
- Regurgitation, or acid and stomach contents coming back up into your throat or mouth. This may cause you to have an acidic or sour taste in your mouth.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Difficulty swallowing or pain while swallowing.
- A chronic cough or hoarseness.
Most people experience acid reflux at one time or another. But it’s often worse or more frequent in people who:
- Are overweight or obese.
- Are pregnant.
- Have a hiatal hernia. This is when the opening in your diaphragm lets the upper part of your stomach move upward toward your chest.
- Smoke cigarettes.
- Take certain medicines like NSAID pain relievers (like Ibuprofen, Aleve, Naproxen), blood pressure, or antianxiety medications.
Why Is Acid Reflux Worse at Night?
It’s common for acid reflux symptoms to worsen or become more noticeable at night. You might be unable to fall asleep because of heartburn discomfort or you might awaken from pain, coughing, or choking sensation.
Acid reflux is often worse at night for a combination of these reasons:
- Lying down (in bed or on the sofa) after a meal or large bedtime snack makes it easier for your LES to relax.
- When you lie down, gravity no longer helps keep stomach acid in your stomach. This makes it easier for acid to flow back into the esophagus.
- Eating a large, late dinner triggers nighttime reflux symptoms for many people. Large meals take longer to digest and stay in your stomach longer. The pressure on your stomach can stress a weakened LES, causing it to open and allow acid to escape.
What Foods Cause Heartburn at Night?
Besides the size of your meal, what you eat also counts. Certain foods can relax your LES too much, making them more likely to cause heartburn.
Everyone is different, and not everyone is sensitive to the same foods. But pay attention to these foods, and avoid or limit them (especially at night) if they worsen your heartburn:
- Acidic foods or drinks like oranges or grapefruit juice.
- Alcohol.
- Carbonated beverages, like soda or seltzer water.
- Cheese.
- Chocolate.
- Coffee or other sources of caffeine.
- Fast foods like burgers or pizza.
- Fatty meats like bacon, sausages, or hot dogs.
- Fried or greasy foods like fried chicken, French fries, and foods with rich sauces or gravy.
- Fried snack foods like chips or pork rinds.
- Mint.
- Spicy foods with hot chiles or chili pepper.
- Tomato-based foods like spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce.
A food and symptom diary can help identify foods that bother you. Write down what you eat throughout the day (especially at dinner) and make notes about how your reflux feels at night.
How to Stop Heartburn at Night
To reduce the chances of nighttime heartburn, doctors recommend starting with diet and lifestyle changes. Tackle these to get heartburn under control:
- If you are overweight, try to lose weight through healthy dietary habits and physical activity. Carrying excess weight, especially in your abdomen, puts more pressure on a weak LES, causing it to be more likely to open up.
- Quit smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes weakens the LES.
- Elevate the head of your bed about six to eight inches. Sleep with a foam wedge or block under the head of your mattress and allow gravity to help keep acid in your stomach.
- Eat dinner earlier. Aim to finish dinner three or more hours before bedtime and remain upright after eating to let gravity do its job.
- Eat lighter, smaller meals, especially later in the day. You’ll digest them more quickly, so they won’t stay in your stomach at bedtime. Try to eat your largest meal at midday.
- Avoid any trigger foods, like those high in fat, spicy, or chocolate, especially at dinner or in the evening.
If lifestyle changes aren’t entirely effective, ask your health care provider about using an over-the-counter heartburn medicine. Some medications, like Tums or Alka Seltzer, help neutralize stomach acid. Other medications, like Pepcid AC or Prilosec OTC, help your stomach to make less acid.
It’s vital not to overuse these medications or use them for too long. Talk to your doctor about the safest ways to use them. If you need something stronger, your doctor might recommend a prescription medicine to treat acid reflux.
When to Call Your Doctor
Mild, occasional heartburn is extremely common, and most people can manage it with diet and lifestyle changes. If your acid reflux or associated symptoms are severe, recurrent, or last for more than two weeks despite home remedies, call your doctor.
Your provider can run tests to rule out more serious conditions like an ulcer or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). They can also guide you on diet, lifestyle, and medications that can help your symptoms.
If you have blood in your stool, black colored stools, or are losing weight unexpectedly and have signs of acid reflux, please contact your medical provider to discuss these symptoms before starting home remedies and do not take any NSAID medications.
If you’re having chest pain and you’re not sure if it’s heartburn or something more serious, like a heart attack, call 911. A heart attack feels different for everyone, and it’s better to be cautious and get medical care just in case.