If you’ve ever been lying in bed and felt a burning sensation in your chest, you know precisely how difficult it can be to sleep when you have heartburn. Caused by acid reflux, heartburn can be triggered by certain foods or medications.
Occasional heartburn doesn’t have to wreck your sleep. You can try natural remedies to ease symptoms and get some sleep.
Despite the name, heartburn actually has nothing to do with your heart. It’s all about the esophagus.
Think of the esophagus as the food pipe in your throat that goes to your stomach. On the food’s descent to the stomach, it goes through bands of muscles called the esophageal sphincters, which function as gatekeepers to your stomach. When food or liquid comes down, they open to let it pass; otherwise, they stay closed.
When the lower esophageal sphincter malfunctions and fails to close all the way, stomach acid or food can creep back up the esophagus, which lacks the stomach’s mucous lining to protect it. That’s called acid reflux and causes chest discomfort, known as heartburn.
When standing or sitting up, gravity helps keep everything inside the stomach, but when we bend over or lie down to sleep, it’s easier for heartburn to occur.
There can be several reasons the lower esophageal sphincter can weaken enough to allow for heartburn. Including eating foods like tomato sauce, coffee or citrus fruits or lying down soon after eating. Certain medications like antibiotics, pain relievers or opioids may trigger heartburn.
5 natural remedies to help ease heartburn symptoms
There are several over-the-counter medications available that can alleviate heartburn symptoms, like antacids and acid reducers. However, these medications are not long-term solutions.
If you have chronic heartburn, you should speak with your doctor to find the reason and make a treatment plan. Your heartburn may indicate you have chronic acid reflux and potentially lead to long-term conditions like esophageal strictures or cancer.
In the meantime, you can try these natural remedies to make sleeping with heartburn easier.
1. Sleep on your left side
Heartburn gets worse when you lie down. One simple remedy to reduce heartburn is to be selective about how you sleep.
The stomach is shaped like a kidney bean and is the upper left of the abdomen. Sleeping on your left side can ease symptoms because of the shape and angle of the stomach and where it connects to the esophagus. It creates an air pocket that keeps the acid from reaching up. Lying on your back, stomach and right side, submerge the lower esophageal sphincter in the contents of your stomach.