Heartburn and GERD at Night

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Heartburn is a condition of pain in the chest, throat, and even in the jaw areas caused by stomach acid rising from the stomach and entering the esophagus. It becomes a serious matter if heartburn starts to occur at least 2 times a week for a period of three months. This is what a doctor will term as chronic heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

Heartburn is known to affect around 25 million Americans, and while it may be considered a nuisance when it happens, it must be treated properly so that the condition does not worsen.

Whether it happens at daytime or nighttime, there is pain. The difference lies is the fact that it’s hard to sleep, even if you are craving sleep. Most people with GERD night attacks have to make do with propping their head on a pile of pillows to avoid the attacks. It can be very uncomfortable and result in neck pain in the morning.

To understand why there are many incidents of heartburn at night, let’s look at the usual circumstances around a GERD attack.

First, GERD usually happens after a heavy meal or excessive partying. Then, if the person tends to fall asleep right away eating without giving the body enough time to digest the food properly, then combined with the special circumstances of GERD, the stomach acids that help in digestion, will travel back up the esophagus causing the pain.

If a person is lying down with his head only slightly above the rest of his body, then there is no gravity to bring down acid back down to the stomach. This means that the acid will tend to stay in the esophagus area longer, causing more discomfort, insomnia, and worse, damage to the esophagus itself.

If this happens, then the esophagus is in grave danger of being exposed to the development of cancerous cells or a condition known as Barrett’s Esophagus. What might happen is that because of the acid in the esophagus, there might be inflammation, and this will narrow the esophagus. Tissue will also be damaged since the esophagus is not equipped to handle to stomach acid, unlike the stomach.

Aside from the gravity as a reason, there is another reason why night heartburn is potentially more dangerous than day heartburn. During the day, we normally use our saliva to wash down or to help us swallow. When we feel the acid burning sensation in our mouth, we can use our saliva to push it back down, or the bicarbonate in our saliva will be able to neutralize the acids.

Unfortunately, we do not salivate or swallow when we are asleep, so the chances of being able to flush the acid is lower.

Dealing with nighttime GERD is definitely frustrating, but there are ways to handle it better today. You should get in touch with your doctor on the latest treatments for people suffering from heartburn at night.