What Side of the Stomach Is Better to Lay on When You Have Acid Reflux

Many people don't realize that the position you sleep in tin directly bear upon your acrid reflux symptoms at night. Anatomy and gravity play a significant role in heartburn symptom frequency, length, and severity, so learning how to sleep with acid reflux can offer upwardly substantial relief.

In this post, we'll discuss the human relationship between sleep and reflux symptoms, show you lot how to sleep with acrid reflux, and share some tips for optimal sleeping with heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD. To navigate throughout the commodity, click on ane of the links below, or read through for a comprehensive overview.

• Symptoms and Causes of Acid Reflux
• How does acid reflux affect sleep?
• Why is Acid Reflux Worse at Nighttime?
• How to Sleep With Acid Reflux & Heartburn
• What is the All-time Position for Sleeping with Acid Reflux?
• Sleep Reflux-Costless With Our Reflux Relief System
• Other ways to manage acid reflux at night
• Key Takeaways

Symptoms and Causes of Acrid Reflux

What causes acrid reflux and what does it feel like? Permit's beginning with a short anatomy lesson.

What you eat travels downward your esophagus through your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and into your stomach where digestion begins. Your LES is a ring of muscles that human action as a valve to control the flow of contents between your esophagus and your stomach. If your LES functions correctly, what you eat will stay in your breadbasket with the occasional release of gas, also known equally a burp.

Problems ascend when your LES doesn't function properly, assuasive your stomach contents to escape back up into your esophagus. These problems tin announced as uncomfortable physiological symptoms, such equally:

• Heartburn
• Regurgitation
• Choking
• Cough

More severe bug, like GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)⁸, come when reflux goes untreated. Prolonged acrid exposure potentially leads to serious health complications, such as erosive esophagitis, peptic strictures, esophageal ulcerations, Barrett'south esophagus, and in rare cases, esophageal cancer¹.

How does acid reflux bear upon slumber?

These issues can announced throughout the day, just many individuals may find that they intensify at nighttime or will experience acid reflux in the morning, leading to physical discomfort, and every bit a result, poor sleep.

Why is Acid Reflux Worse at Night?

Does acrid reflux go worse at night? For some, it can. Hither's how:

If reflux occurs when yous are standing up, gravity and saliva quickly return the acidic content to your breadbasket. This quick return typically makes your symptoms shorter and minimizes the potential acid harm to the fragile lining of your esophagus that can occur from acrid exposure.

However, the interference of gravity that reduces reflux symptoms while yous're upright disappears when yous prevarication downwardly to slumber at night. When yous lie down, yous swallow less, and this can also make the render of reflux to the stomach more hard². This combination of factors can cause some to struggle with acid reflux at night even more so than during the day.

The discomfort of nighttime acrid reflux⁹ tin atomic number 82 to poor sleep quality every bit heartburn and other symptoms cause disturbances throughout the night.

How to Sleep With Acid Reflux & Heartburn

The expert news is that you can learn how to sleep with acid reflux comfortably past only adjusting how you position yourself at night. This elementary modification can go a long way towards reducing your dark acid reflux symptoms, and ultimately, protect yous from the harmful long-term effects of refluxed tummy acid.

Let's take a look at some sleeping positions that y'all should avert, likewise every bit postures that are best suited for sleeping with acrid reflux.

Avoid sleeping apartment on your dorsum

When lying flat on your back, a poorly performance LES can allow acidic stomach contents to flow freely into the esophagus, and equally a outcome, exaggerate acrid reflux at night. Studies have shown that in this position, symptoms are often more frequent and tend to last longerⁱⁱⁱ. The severity of your symptoms may besides increase if yous take stomach fatty, which pushes downwardly on your tummy and LES and tin "force" contents dorsum up into the esophagus and beyond. To reduce your nighttime heartburn and decrease the risks associated with prolonged acrid exposure, endeavour to avoid back sleeping at dark.

Instead, slumber at an incline

A simple heave in meridian tin can produce positive results when it comes to nighttime acid reflux. Studies have shown that sleeping at an incline decreases the frequency of reflux episodes and allows your body to clear reflux at a quicker charge per unit⁵.

As long as your entire torso is elevated, the incline gives gravity a picayune encouragement in its endeavour to return reflux to your breadbasket.

Avert right-side sleeping

Though episodes may exist less frequent on your right when compared to flat on your dorsum, the episodes are much more than liquid in nature considering your LES is oft submerged in the acidic breadbasket content4. When yous sleep apartment on your right side, your body and so must work confronting gravity to return acid contents to your stomach, making it a much harder and lengthier process. This position potentially creates a leaky faucet sensation, releasing tum acid into the frail lining of your esophagus.

While liquid reflux can be very pitiful, information technology can besides be dangerous — when you prevarication apartment on your right side; acrid tends to linger in your esophagus for much longer3. As stomach acrid idles in the esophagus, it continues to cause irritation and inflammation^ten, which tin lead to ulcers, chest pain, bleeding, trouble swallowing, and other serious problems.

Instead, sleep on your left-side

Y'all may have heard that sleeping flat on your left side provides heartburn relief, which is true. In this position, your LES typically stays higher up "sea level" or higher up the level of gastric contents, making refluxing more than difficult. Should stomach acrid escape, gravity is able to return it to your stomach quicker than when you're on your right side ^6-7.

What'due south more than, reflux on your left side tends to be more gaseous in nature^four, which decreases potential impairment from acid exposure. Considering symptoms tend to be milder and less frequent when lying on your left side compared to on your right side or on your dorsum, lying on your left is considered the optimal apartment position for sleeping with acid reflux and other gastrointestinal disorders, like GERD.

What is the All-time Position for Sleeping with Acrid Reflux?

The best sleeping position for acid reflux is on your left side and at an incline. This posture has been proven to offer natural reflux relief and can make refluxing nearly impossible, thanks to the positioning of the lower esophageal sphincter ^six-7.  When the LES is positioned above the level of stomach contents, gravity is able to quickly return the contents, similar partially-digested foods and acid, back to your tummy. As a result, you're less probable to experience acid reflux at dark.

Physicians suggest that this elevated left-side position can decrease your night heartburn symptoms and ultimately provide protection from prolonged acrid exposure to your esophagus, throat, lungs, and sinuses.

Sleep Reflux-Free With Our Reflux Relief System

Notwithstanding wondering how to sleep with heartburn comfortably? Run into MedCline's Acid Reflux Relief System, constructed using the clinically-proven and physician recommended posture — elevated on the left-side —  for sleeping comfortably with acid reflux.

Our GERD pillow is specifically designed to manage acid reflux at night by reducing exposure to harmful stomach acid. Information technology can provide instant relief and a long-term solution to nighttime acrid reflux.

MedCline Reflux Relief System clinical studies accept shown significant comeback for:

• Gastroesophageal Reflux Illness (GERD) // Acid Reflux
• Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) // Silent Reflux
• Gestational Reflux

Other ways to manage acid reflux at nighttime

In addition to adjusting your sleeping posture, there are several other steps y'all can have to mitigate your acid reflux at dark and throughout the twenty-four hours.

Hither are some additional strategies for managing your acrid reflux and heartburn symptoms:

• Dwelling house remedies for heartburn relief: Drinking milk, chewing gum, and using herbal remedies can provide short-term reflux relief when symptoms arise.
• Acid reflux medications: Antacids, PPIs, and H-two blockers can offering brusque- and long-term relief from symptoms. (Bank check out our mail service on pill-induced esophagitis to acquire most safe pill-swallowing techniques).
• Avoid trigger foods: Spicy, fatty, and acidic foods can trigger heartburn and should be avoided, especially right before lying downwardly. Endeavor to give yourself at least three hours to fully digest your dinner before bedtime.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Added pressure on the abdomen tin can crusade acid reflux to flare up.

Cardinal Takeaways

So what's the secret to sleeping reflux-free? Proper sleep positioning! When y'all lie flat on your back or on your right side, your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) has to work harder confronting gravity to drive acrid back downwards to your tum. This exertion and elongated process can put your esophagus at a higher adventure for exposure to stomach acid. Left untreated, this exposure can manifest into more than serious symptoms.

The best sleeping position for acid reflux is on your left side with your trunk elevated. To learn more about how MedCline's patented Reflux Relief System can aid you manage your acrid reflux at night, talk to one of our Sleep Specialists today.

References:

1. Lagergren, J, Bergstrom R, Lindgren A, et al. Symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux as a take chances factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. Northward Engl J Med 1999; 340: 825-831.
2. Fass, Ronnie. PPI bashing' drives utilize of alternatives. gastoendnews.com, Sept. 2011.
3. Khoury, Ramez M. Influence of spontaneous slumber positions on night recumbent reflux in patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Affliction. The American Periodical of Gastroenterology. Vol. 94, No. 8, 1999.
4. Shay SS, Conwell DL, Mehindru 5, et al. The result of posture on gastroesophageal reflux event frequency and limerick during fasting. Am J Gastroenterology. 1996; 91: 54-60.
5. Stanciu C, Bennett JR: Effect of posture on gastroesophageal reflux, Digestion 1977, 15: 104-109.
6. Person, Due east, Freeman, J, Rife, C, Clark, A, Castell, DO. A Novel Sleep Assist Device Prevents Gastroesophageal Reflux: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2015 Sep; 49 (8): 655-9.
7. Allampati SK, Lopez R, Ray Thousand, Birgisson S, Gabbard SL. Use of a Sleep Positioning Device Significantly Improves Nocturnal Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms. Am J Gastroenterol 2014; 109:S1–S39
8. "What's the Difference Between Heartburn, Acid Reflux and GERD?," Cleveland Clinic,https://health.clevelandclinic.org/whats-the-difference-between-heartburn-acid-reflux-and-gerd/, ane Jul. 2020
9. "'Silent' Nighttime Acid Reflux Symptoms Can Cause Poor Sleep And Sleep Apnea," Science Daily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051031080008.htm, 1 Jul. 2020
10.  "GERD (Chronic Acrid Reflux)," Cleveland Clinic,https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17019-gerd-or-acrid-reflux-or-heartburn-overview#:~:text=But%20long%2Dterm%20GERD%20can,hurting%2C%20bleeding%20and%20trouble%20swallowing., 1 Jul. 2020

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