Heartburn can be an irritating feeling to endure for a few moments or an agonizing ordeal that wakes you in the middle of the night. The burning sensations and the wheezing that sometimes accompanies a rough case of heartburn are all incredibly unpleasant, especially at night. There are ways to prevent nighttime heartburn; see the steps here to learn change your routines so you can avoid experiencing these symptoms.
Instructions
1. Exercise regularly to avoid obesity. Overweight individuals may experience heartburn with some frequency because the extra weight nudges food around in the stomach. Sometimes, small quantities of food reaches the esophagus and heartburn can result from the uncomfortable internal movement.
2. Eat small and healthy meals more often, like four or five times a day rather than twice or three times a day. This step gives your body a chance to digest everything before bedtime and prevent any food from refluxing into the esophagus. Just like the extra weight mentioned in Step 1, excess food can go where it shouldn't inside your body and cause heartburn.
3. Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic drinks that can cause extra stomach acid to develop and creep into the esophagus to cause you pain and discomfort. Coffee and carbonated colas are particularly nasty as are most alcoholic beverages like wine, beer and mixed cocktails.
4. Avoid foods that may contain citrus ingredients, including tomatoes and other items that are high in fat and sugar, like fried potatoes or doughnuts. These foods cause discomfort for many individuals, even when they are consumed in small quantities. Acidic or rich salad dressings and tomato-based pasta sauces are often culprits in the case of heartburn.
5. When going to sleep, try to position your head above your stomach and do not wear anything with a remotely constricting waistband. The physical position of the body uses gravity to keep food where it belongs and a midsection free of tight clothing also keeps food in the correct position, rather than pushing it unnaturally toward the esophagus.
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