GERD Keeping You Up? Our Top Acid Reflux Sleep Tips

Did you know that your acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) interferes with your sleep? 

In fact, GERD or acid reflux can keep you out of your important stages of sleep as you are woken up by the pain of heartburn. If acid reflux reaches the back of your throat or larynx it can cause a coughing fit or choking which again wakes you up. GERD has also been identified as a risk factor for sleep apnea, a disorder in which the person repeatedly stops breathing during the night. Researchers believe that refluxed stomach acid causes the voice box to spasm, which blocks the airways and prevents air from flowing into the lungs.

Unfortunately, the simple act of going to bed may make GERD more likely as lying down on your back increases the risk of acid reflux. When in a sitting or standing position, gravity helps to keep gastric acid in your stomach. Acid reflux symptoms not only make sleeping more difficult but can harm concentration, moods, and other areas of life. 

This is why your sleep system can be the best investment to help reduce your symptoms and get you sleeping through the night! 

TOP 4 TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN SHOPPING FOR A SLEEP SYSTEM TO COMBAT GERD

Invest in an Adjustable Base! 

This is the most important tip we have for you as an adjustable base allows you to raise the upper part of your body up, thus keeping the stomach acids where they belong. An adjustable bed can help you to find the perfect position for your body, by allowing you to adjust the height of your head. If you depend on propping your body up with pillows, you probably roll off them in the middle of the night. The only way to make sure that your body stays at the right elevation is to have a bed that you can adjust to keep you at the right angle. Keeping acids in the stomach through gravity is the key to avoiding a miserable and often painful night. Apart from this, an adjustable bed base like the Rize Adjustable sold by Essentia comes with many perks including a massage feature, edge to edge lumbar support, and lounge mode. 

Contouring capabilities of the mattress

As you adjust the base to suit the sleep position to keep your heartburn at bay, your mattress will also need to be able to contour and conform to these new positions without sacrificing support. Essentia mattresses offer this and more! Essentia’s patented natural memory foam takes high quality natural and organic ingredients, turning them into a truly next-generation, latex-based foam that sleeps cool, feel better, and reacts faster than any other foam you’ve ever experienced. Essentia natural memory foam eliminates negative space between your back and the mattress, offering pressure relief that increases blood circulation thus eliminating numbness and soreness for a more comfortable sleep. Proper spinal alignment is ensured by the natural hevea latex support core.

Adjustable Base Compatibility

Since elevating your upper-body by at least six inches can help improve acid reflux symptoms, it’s best to invest in a bed that works with an adjustable base. All Essentia mattress models are compatible with an adjustable base. They offer flexibility and durability to withstand the constant motion. Essentia’s patented natural memory foam also contours to the body and ensures there is no negative space between the mattress and the body no matter what position the adjustable base is in. This means you benefit from pressure relief and proper back support regardless of your sleeping style or adjustable base position preference.

Durability

Adjustable beds can cause more wear and tear due to constant motion. As a result, a mattress with a longer-than-average lifespan will be more suitable for these beds than mattresses with typically shorter lifespans. Essentia mattresses come with a 20-year warranty and have been tested to stand the test of time! To demonstrate the durability of Essentia’s high-quality mattresses the chart below indicates the height change of an Essentia mattress over a 10-year period. To conduct the test, a 250lb hexagonal shape roller passes over the mattress 200,000 times, which simulates 10 years of use. What was found is that the Essentia mattress experienced a loss of less than a quarter-inch of its original height at the 10-year mark. Based on these results, it’s safe to say you can expect your Essentia to stand the test time, with the added security of Essentia’s twenty-year warranty.