If you are a GERD sufferer, you can do a lot to improve your quality of sleep by changing your sleeping position. Sleepers also produce less saliva, which plays a role in returning esophageal pH levels to normal after an incident of acid reflux. This slows the regular esophageal contractions that normally keep food moving down the esophagus and prevent acid from moving back up. When you lie flat, however, it's much easier for stomach acid to backflow into your esophagus.Īlso, sleeping people tend to swallow less frequently. When you are in a sitting or standing position, gravity helps keep gastric acid in the stomach. For example, just the act of lying down increases the risk of acid reflux. Unfortunately, many of the mechanisms of sleep make GERD more likely. Researchers believe that refluxed stomach acid causes the voice box to spasm, which blocks the airways and prevents air from flowing into the lungs. GERD has been identified as a risk factor for sleep apnea, a disorder in which the person repeatedly stops breathing during the night.People might wake up when they experience regurgitation, in which a small amount of stomach acid comes up through their esophagus and into their mouth.If acid reflux reaches the back of the throat or larynx, it may prompt a coughing fit or choking.Most obviously, individuals may be awakened by the pain of heartburn, which occurs when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus and eats away at the esophageal lining.Researchers have figured out several ways in which GERD-related acid reflux interferes with sleep: In addition to the physical and mental effects that stem from lack of sleep, people who experience nocturnal GERD are at greater risk for some of the worst complications of the disease, including erosive esophagitis, dyspepsia, and esophageal cancer. Sleeplessness poses a serious health problem. These individuals are more likely to suffer sleep problems such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and daytime sleepiness as a result of their nighttime heartburn. As many as one in four people who experience sleep disturbances report that they have nighttime heartburn.įor people who have been diagnosed with GERD, the rate is even higher three people out of four report having nocturnal GERD symptoms. Heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, are frequent causes of sleeplessness. What’s going on? Was it something you ate? Your sleeping position? In addition to tossing and turning, the burning sensation of heartburn isn’t making your sleep efforts any easier. You’re trying to get a good night’s sleep, but it just isn’t happening.
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