Heartburn at night? You’re not alone
Getting a full night’s sleep without waking up – that’s a dream for many living with heartburn. When your body wants to rest, your stomach acid often has other plans.
When the night doesn’t turn out as you’d hoped
Does this sound familiar? You go to bed feeling tired, but wake up after an hour or so with a burning sensation in your chest. You get up, try to swallow down the burning feeling, maybe sit up in the living room for a while. Perhaps you reach for something in the medicine cabinet. But you already know it’s going to be a night of broken sleep.
For many people with a hiatus hernia, this kind of night-time heartburn is an everyday struggle. It’s not just the frustration of waking up – it also means your body never gets the vital recovery it needs.
Why is heartburn worse at night?
Heartburn is often caused by a hiatus hernia, where the upper part of the stomach slips up through the diaphragm. This stops the lower oesophageal sphincter from staying closed, so stomach acid leaks into the oesophagus and sometimes all the way up to your mouth.
When you lie down, it becomes easier for the acid to escape from the stomach. That’s why many people experience their worst heartburn symptoms during the night.
Heartburn sabotages your sleep
Heartburn is one of the most common causes of disturbed sleep in adults. But it shows up in different ways:
- Some struggle to fall asleep, as acid creeps up when the body relaxes.
- Others wake in the middle of the night with a burning chest or a sour taste in the mouth.
- Some sleep restlessly and wake up without knowing why.
On top of that, several other common hiatus hernia symptoms can disturb your night:
- Acid reflux
- Tickly cough or hoarseness
- Pain behind the breastbone
- The feeling of a lump in the throat
Poor sleep affects your whole life
When your sleep is repeatedly disturbed, your body never gets the recovery it needs. You may notice:
- You become more sensitive to pain
- You feel tired, sluggish, or drained
- You lose patience more easily and feel low in mood
Sleep is vital – and that’s why so many people seek help, not just for the heartburn itself, but to enjoy peaceful nights once more. Sleep problems are very common among people with heartburn.
You may wake up from stomach acid, from coughing, burping, or just a vague feeling of discomfort. Your bed no longer feels like a safe haven for rest – but something you associate with pain and worry.
And once your sleep is disturbed, everything else gets worse. You become more sensitive to pain, tiredness sets in, and you have less energy to handle everyday life.
What can you do?
Some home remedies might help a little, like avoiding large meals late in the evening, raising the head of your bed, and sleeping in certain positions.
But for many people with a hiatus hernia, that’s not enough. You need something that treats the root cause of your symptoms.
A solution that works at the root
IQoro is a treatment for hiatus hernia. Through a simple exercise that takes just 30 seconds, you strengthen the internal muscles between your mouth and stomach. As these muscles become stronger, your diaphragm can hold your stomach and its contents in place – even when you’re lying down.
The result? Less stomach acid leaking up – and better sleep at night.
Many people who use IQoro describe the relief of finally being able to sleep through the night without waking up with heartburn.