A woman with shoulder-length dark hair is sitting up in bed, wearing a white T-shirt. She looks distressed, holding her chest with both hands, and has a pained expression on her face. The room is well-lit with natural light coming from a window with gray curtains. The bed has white sheets, and there is a modern, minimalist wall decoration above the headboard.

Sleep struggles? How to help night-time reflux

April 08, 2025•4 min read

Lots of people find that their reflux is particularly bad during the night, which makes sense because when we are lying down, gravity isn’t there to help the acid from our stomach stay in our stomach. Leading to all sorts of burdensome symptoms like burning, chest pain, acid taste and cough.

There are lots of little techniques you can use to try and reduce the amount of reflux you get at night. Not all of these will work for everyone, and you may have already tried and tested these methods yourself. But with that here are our top tips for reducing night-time reflux which don’t include medications:

1. Chewing gum – some research has shown that chewing sugar-free gum could reduce reflux due to the chewing action causing increased swallowing, promoting acid clearance in the oesophagus. The action of chewing gum can also stimulate gastric juice secretion, boosting digestion of food contents, and reducing stomach contents which may otherwise increase reflux risk.

2. Sleeping on your left-hand side – due to the anatomy of the stomach and the way the opening sits, lying on your left-hand side can ensure the opening of the stomach is upright, allowing gravity to help keep stomach contents down and avoid anything refluxing up.

3. Wait 3-4hrs after eating before going to bed – having lots in your stomach increases abdominal pressure and the likelihood of reflux. Leaving a sufficient amount of time for digestion to occur and stomach contents to empty means there is less available in the stomach to reflux up. Additionally, less acid for digestion will be being produced and so, less acid available to cause reflux.

4. Avoid trigger foods – if you have known trigger foods such as spicy foods and fatty foods, then it is particularly important that you avoid these at night as you do not have the advantages of being upright and going about normal daily activities, such as a light stroll, to help prevent reflux from happening.

5. Have a light dinner – eating a large meal, or even just a meal that is full of spice or fatty foods, can increase the risk of reflux at night. Try having a smaller meal to prevent the pressure in your stomach to increase due to the larger volume in it. Additionally, try to avoid meals high in fat, as this can delay digestion, causing food to remain in your stomach for a longer amount of time, increasing the likelihood of food and acid moving up into your oesophagus.

6. Limit liquids before bed – consuming a lot of liquids, just like eating a large meal, can increase the pressure in your stomach and increase the risk of contents moving up into the oesophagus and causing reflux. Aim to consume enough during the day to avoid downing pints of water in the evening

7. An extra pillow – further helping gravity do it’s thing, sleeping with your head upright allows any reflux at night to stay down.

8. Avoid alcohol in the evening – alcohol is a common culprit for many people when it comes to reflux. This makes sense as some research has shown that alcohol may cause the ring of muscle at the top of our stomach stopping stomach contents refluxing up to relax.

9. Avoid strenuous exercising before going to bed – high intensity and strenuous exercise can may increase the risk of reflux because, as with eating a large meal, these types of workouts can increase abdominal pressure which helps push things out of the stomach and into the oesophagus.

10. Practice relaxation techniques before bed – research has shown that practicing relaxation techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing may help reduce reflux and it’s symptoms which could be particularly beneficial if you suffer from night-time reflux as it not only helps with reflux but gets you relaxed and ready for bed, hopefully improving your overall sleep.

The bottom line...

There are plenty of techniques you can apply to your evening routine in order to help prevent that unpleasant night-time reflux from happening, which don’t include medications.

If you have given these a try, and you still find your reflux ruining your night and sleep, then please seek further medical advice from your consultant. They could help you look for further treatment plans and potentially refer you for further diagnostic testing to assess your reflux and its causes.

References

The effect of chewing sugar-free gum on gastro-esophageal reflux - PubMed

Walking and chewing reduce postprandial acid reflux - PubMed

The effect of sleep positional therapy on nocturnal gastroesophageal reflux measured by esophageal pH-impedance monitoring - PubMed

Lifestyle Intervention in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease - PubMed

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): Highlighting Diagnosis, Treatment, and Lifestyle Changes - PMC

The role of lifestyle changes in gastroesophageal reflux diseases treatment - PubMed