Late dinners and bedtime habits may trigger night-time acidity

You finish dinner, get into bed and prepare to sleep, but a burning sensation in your chest keeps you awake. Sometimes, you may wake up with a sour or bitter taste in your mouth, throat irritation or a feeling that stomach contents are coming back up. While many people experience acidity occasionally, recurring symptoms at night can affect sleep and everyday life.
Night-time acidity is often linked to eating habits, meal timings and lifestyle choices. Eating a heavy dinner late at night, drinking too much coffee or lying down immediately after a meal can make symptoms worse, particularly among people who are already prone to acid reflux. However, these symptoms should not always be dismissed as ordinary acidity, especially when they occur frequently.
Acid reflux happens when stomach contents flow backwards into the oesophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. When this happens frequently and causes troublesome symptoms, it may be a sign of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
A busy work schedule often affects eating habits. People may skip or delay lunch, depend on tea or coffee to get through the day and eventually have a heavy dinner late in the evening. Going to bed soon after eating can further increase the chances of acid reflux.
A full stomach takes time to empty. When a person lies down immediately after eating, stomach contents can move upwards more easily, particularly if the valve between the stomach and oesophagus does not close properly. Night-time reflux can also be uncomfortable because the body produces less saliva and swallowing becomes less frequent during sleep. This reduces the natural process through which the oesophagus clears refluxed stomach contents.
Heartburn is one of the most common symptoms of acid reflux, but not everyone experiences it in the same way. Some people wake up with a bitter taste in their mouth, while others experience fluid rising into the throat, persistent irritation or coughing.
Explaining the connection between everyday habits and digestive health, Dr Saurabh Bansal, General Minimal Access and Gastrointestinal Surgeon, Director and Founder of THE CLINICS, highlights the importance of understanding what triggers recurring reflux symptoms.
Although throat irritation and coughing can sometimes be associated with reflux, they do not always indicate an acidity problem. Other medical conditions may also cause similar symptoms and should be evaluated when necessary.