Why do I get indigestion every night?

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Indigestion that shows up every night has a logic to it. Evening meals are usually the biggest and latest of the day, and a full stomach produces the most acid. Lying down removes gravity's help keeping that acid where it belongs - the NHS names eating close to bedtime and lying down as classic reflux and indigestion triggers. The usual fuel list runs through dinner: fatty food, spice, tomato sauces, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated drinks. And stress accumulates through the day, arriving at its peak by evening, when it both tightens the gut and sharpens pain perception.

The fixes follow the logic: move dinner earlier - three hours before bed is the standard advice - keep it smaller and lighter, prop the head of the bed up 10 to 15 cm with blocks rather than extra pillows, which just bend the neck, and try sleeping on your left side, which anatomically keeps the stomach below the valve. Pharmacy antacids or alginates handle breakthrough nights.

When nightly indigestion earns a provider: it persists past two weeks of the changes above, comes with difficulty swallowing or food sticking, unexplained weight loss, vomiting blood or black stools, or pain that wakes you and radiates. NIDDK lists these alarm features as reasons for prompt evaluation rather than more antacids. And nightly use of over-the-counter remedies is itself the sign to go - they mask what needs naming.

Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text. Describe your evenings and the pattern, and it can help you build the fix.

Why do I get indigestion every night?

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