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Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:45 pm
by Uff Da
I've always heard wait at least three hours after eating before sleep, but I totally ignore that. Thankfully, I don't have gerd.
I sleep best right after eating. I have postprandial hypotension, which means my systolic blood pressure drops at least 20 points after eating, and sometimes up to 50 points. Ah, one can sleep so well when the BP drops to about 90/50!
Tentatively, it looks like my AHI is also lower if I eat just before sleeping, too, but I need to do more controlled experiments to see if that is really true.
I'm also underweight and have a high metabolism, so that may make my situation a bit different from many with OSA.
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 1:28 pm
by ChicagoGranny
zackds wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:09 pm
yea i have 6" blocks under the head of my bed now
i wanna add a couple more inches to see if that helps
also trying to see which foods i cant tolerate right now
Mayo Clinic has some good info.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... c-20361940 and
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-con ... q-20057894
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:04 am
by zackds
will do, thanks
im under the impression that treating sleep apnea successfully
also means treating gerd if you have it
and both of mine are simultaneously getting better
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:15 am
by Muse-Inc
Usually have 1 oz of cheese, maybe some V8 or a few bites of fruit, sometimes peanuts or Macadamias, occasionally a few rinsed black olives. All within 30 mins of sleep. I seem to sleep better with a snack. I rarely have heartburn but I sleep atop several layered pillows for less congestion so that may be why. If I do have heartburn, I eat a piece of dried ginger after rinsing off as much sugar as possible -- usually heals the burn
If that doesn't wor, then I go to sleep on my right side (sleep on left side most nights).
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:24 am
by zackds
LSAT wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:04 am
zackds wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 8:43 am
MeToo wrote: ↑Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:20 am
I find that 3 hours works for me. Complete dinner and last nibbles by 7:30 and lights out around 10:30. I also elevate the head of my bed about 8 inches.
i will sleep on a cone head slant if it means my gerd will go away
Put a 4-6" block of wood under the head of the bed to keep the acid in the stomach where it belongs...not in the esophagus or throat.
thanks, i have been using a 6" block for a few days
but some websites ive looked at said you can go up to 8
so im trying that
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:54 am
by palerider
Not quite awake yet, and the awkwardly phrasing of the title struck me as funny.
How long to wait, after eating to sleep.
is that like "I've worked myself to death"?
I just have this image of someone stuffing food in their face till they pass out from exhaustion.
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 8:02 am
by LSAT
zackds wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:09 pm
yea i have 6" blocks under the head of my bed now
i wanna add a couple more inches to see if that helps
Yea...I guess you could sleep standing up too......All you need is to keep your upper body higher than your lower body.
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 8:46 am
by zackds
LSAT wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 8:02 am
zackds wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:09 pm
yea i have 6" blocks under the head of my bed now
i wanna add a couple more inches to see if that helps
Yea...I guess you could sleep standing up too......All you need is to keep your upper body higher than your lower body.
yep thats why i made the joke about cone heads
i suppose two inches may not make too much of a difference
i know its more so about meal size/composition anyway
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 9:15 am
by SewTired
As already mentioned, anywhere from 3-5 hours. Also, depends on what you are eating. Best to keep a chart and find what works for you.
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:24 am
by zonker
i usually have a good snack three hours before bed. of course, i try to avoid things at dinner that put up a fight in my digestive system.
one thing that i think is odd and i don't know if this affects anyone else. if my snack consists of cookies,pastry or cake, i drink milk along with that. if my snack is chips or crackers, i drink pepsi. the nights i have milk, i am noticeably more likely to get up around 4-5 am to pee. pepsi doesn't seem to make me have to get up at all.
weird, eh?
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:56 pm
by ChicagoGranny
zonker wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 11:24 am
i try to avoid things at dinner that put up a fight in my digestive system.
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:59 pm
by ChicagoGranny
palerider wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:54 am
I just have this image of someone stuffing food in their face till they pass out from exhaustion.
Joey Chestnut
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:11 pm
by ChicagoGranny
zackds wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:24 am
i have been using a 6" block for a few days
but some websites ive looked at said you can go up to 8
so im trying that
I have a friend who has reflux. They put the head of their bed on blocks. When one of the grandsons was a toddler and would visit, he liked to sleep in the bed with the grandparents.
The friend told me they would wake up two or three times per night and have to pull the toddler up from the foot of the bed. They had the head so high, the toddler would slide down during the night.
zackds wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:04 am
im under the impression that treating sleep apnea successfully
also means treating gerd if you have it
and both of mine are simultaneously getting better
It's a vicious circle. Sleep apnea worsens reflux, and reflux worsens sleep apnea.
Some researchers believe that obstructive sleep apnea results in airway pressure changes that can cause reflux to occur, yet other researchers believe that the reflux of acids may result in spasms of the vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea.
"With sleep apnea, people tend to breathe harder because their breathing has stopped, and that could induce reflux to flow into the esophagus," says gastroenterologist Ken DeVault, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and spokesman for the American College of Gastroenterology. "It's been thought that this causes reflux to enter the esophagus."
"But so far, it's largely a chicken-and-egg question: Does sleep apnea cause acid reflux, or does this reflux cause sleep apnea by pooling in the esophagus and making it harder to breathe?"
https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ne ... -related#1
Re: how long to wait after eating to sleep
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:57 am
by zackds
ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:11 pm
zackds wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:24 am
i have been using a 6" block for a few days
but some websites ive looked at said you can go up to 8
so im trying that
I have a friend who has reflux. They put the head of their bed on blocks. When one of the grandsons was a toddler and would visit, he liked to sleep in the bed with the grandparents.
The friend told me they would wake up two or three times per night and have to pull the toddler up from the foot of the bed. They had the head so high, the toddler would slide down during the night.
zackds wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:04 am
im under the impression that treating sleep apnea successfully
also means treating gerd if you have it
and both of mine are simultaneously getting better
It's a vicious circle. Sleep apnea worsens reflux, and reflux worsens sleep apnea.
Some researchers believe that obstructive sleep apnea results in airway pressure changes that can cause reflux to occur, yet other researchers believe that the reflux of acids may result in spasms of the vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea.
"With sleep apnea, people tend to breathe harder because their breathing has stopped, and that could induce reflux to flow into the esophagus," says gastroenterologist Ken DeVault, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and spokesman for the American College of Gastroenterology. "It's been thought that this causes reflux to enter the esophagus."
"But so far, it's largely a chicken-and-egg question: Does sleep apnea cause acid reflux, or does this reflux cause sleep apnea by pooling in the esophagus and making it harder to breathe?"
https://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ne ... -related#1
haha, he probably thought the bed looked like a race car
i know thats what i thought when i first looked at mine after
putting blocks under it