1. Using Gravity to Ease GERD Symptoms
Many people find that their symptoms get worse at night. You can prevent this by keeping your head higher than your stomach by raising the head of your bed. This helps keep the stomach acid from flowing up into your esophagus.
Ideally, you want the head of the bed to be raised about 6 to 9 inches. You can do this by placing bricks under the feet at the head of the bed. Alternatively, you can put a wedge-shaped pillow between the mattress and the box spring. These pillows are commonly available at medical-supply stores and are more effective than regular pillows.
2. Dinner and Beyond: Eating to Minimize Your Pain
One reason GERD symptoms commonly get worse at night is that dinner is typically the largest meal of the day. Too much food at once can lead to the immediate onset of heartburn, and it can be even more severe if you then lie down soon after eating. A better approach is to eat smaller meals which will put less pressure on your abdomen and your esophageal sphincter.
Instead of eating three large meals a day, try four or five smaller meals. You can also experiment with having more substantial snacks during the day to make up for the smaller portion sizes at mealtime. Dinner is the most important meal to shrink. Since bedtime follows dinnertime, there often isn't quite enough time for digestion to finish before you lie down, and this triggers heartburn symptoms.
In addition to eating a smaller dinner, avoid snacking in the evening. Snacking can be just as harmful as a large meal. If you find that you are hungry before bedtime, try eating a small snack, such as fruit or a few nuts. Be especially careful to avoid GERD trigger foods like spicy fries, orange juice, coffee, peppermint, ice cream and chocolate bars.
Chewing gum before bed may also help your GERD symptoms. It is not entirely clear why this is beneficial, but it is probably due to the chewing action. Chewing produces more saliva, and saliva helps to protect the esophagus from stomach acid. Saliva is also useful in washing acid back into the stomach.
3. Make Your Sleep More Comfortable
You've eaten properly and raised the head of your bed. Now it is time to sleep. But there is still more you can do to treat your GERD symptoms. Take a look at your pajamas. Do they fit properly? Clothing that is tight can worsen GERD symptoms. Try to wear loose pajamas that don't put pressure on your abdomen. Women may want to consider wearing a nightgown instead.
The position you sleep in is also important. Research has shown that sleeping on your left side is best for optimal digestion while sleeping on your right side is most likely to aggravate symptoms.
