Nighttime Heartburn Relief

Many people suffer from nighttime heartburn. The discomfort from the heartburn will interrupt sleep and consequently cause a person to wake up in the morning less than refreshed. This can affect the day’s activities so it is important to get some nighttime heartburn relief.

This type of heartburn occurs possibly when you do not have medication to reach for so nighttime heartburn relief will have to involve home remedies. The easiest and possible the most effective nighttime heartburn relief methods are those that involve lifestyle changes and changing what you eat. The following are a few tips that will provide nighttime heartburn relief.

Eat the right foods – Heartburn is caused primarily by a buildup of acid in the stomach which backwashes into the esophagus causing the discomfort. You should therefore avoid acidic foods or foods that trigger acid buildup such as fatty foods, spicy foods, carbonated and caffeinated drinks, alcoholic beverages and chocolate. Acidic foods include citrus fruits, tomato based products such as ketchup and grapefruits. Different foods will trigger heartburn for different people so it may be a good idea to keep a food journal so as to identify your own trigger foods.

Eat smaller meals – One cause of heartburn is the weakening or opening of the LES (lower esophageal sphincter) muscle. The pressure exerted from a full stomach causes the LES to open and cause the backwash of stomach contents which contain acid. It is therefore advisable to eat small meals particularly at night. Possibly the best nighttime heartburn relief is eating your meals at least 3 hours before going to bed. This is to ensure that the stomach is empty before sleeping.

Sleep right- Do not sleep right after a meal. You should sleep with your upper body elevated to ensure that gravity aids in keeping stomach contents in the stomach. It also ensures that there is no undue pressure being placed on the LES. It is recommended that you sleep on your left side. This is because esophagus is on the right side of the stomach. Sleeping on the right put pressure on where the stomach and esophagus meet causing the lower esophageal sphincter to open causing the reflux of acid.

Exercise right – You should not exercise right after a meal. In fact it is better to exercise before meals. If you experience heartburn after exercising, drink plenty of water.

Chewing gum – this is also an excellent nighttime heartburn relief. Gum chewing encourages the production of saliva which in turn neutralizes any excess acid that is produced.

Eat a banana – A banana has been shown to work by reducing stomach acid.

Other examples of nighttime heartburn relief include not wearing tight clothing which put pressure on the stomach, stop smoking as nicotine relaxes the LES and try to avoid stress as it causes overproduction of stomach acid. If you are overweight, a simple solution is to lose excess weight.